Home is Where the Heart Is
by OrangeCat
Summary: Takes place after Artemis returns Lost Colony . Artemis disappears litterally taking the heart of a young girl with him unbeknownst to him . He returns, she's glad to see him but what happens when she starts to fall ill. Romance Artemis/OC R/R please
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all his associates are property of the ingenious Mr. Eoin Colfer. Therefore all characters except for my OC Katherine belong to him. **

_Warning: The beginning of this chapter is where Artemis is going to play his disappearing act just rehashed with Katherine injected into the story line. Then it continues with a little bit of what happened when he left. It's basically just the prologue of my story. Chapter Two is all new and all original story line of my own I just felt the need to gradually draw you in with this…_

"I'm giving you a new duty, look after Minerva. Keep her safe until we can rendezvous."

Katherine didn't like this, "Artemis! There is no way Holly can carry all that weight!"

Artemis looked her in the eyes, "She has no choice, besides it is merely one building over." Katherine saw _it_ briefly in his eyes, it was doubt, he wasn't completely confident in his plan. But before she could get another word in Butler spoke up.

"Let Holly fly out over the sea and drop the bomb, we can mount a rescue mission later."

"It will be too late. If we don't get these fairies out of here, the eyes of the world will be on Taipei. And anyway, the local seas are thronged with fishing boats. This is the only way. I will not allow humans or fairies to die when I can prevent it."

"Listen to yourself." Butler was urgent now, "You sound like a… like a good guy! There's nothing in this for you."

Butler was right, of all the times Artemis could've chosen to be a 'good guy' he picked now. Not that she objected to his willingness to be a good guy, but why now? _'Why now? Why did he decide to act like a good guy just in time to risk his life and most likely…'_ Katherine didn't want to think about the possible outcome of this.

But Artemis didn't seem to care, "In the words of H.P. Woodman, 'Time is ticking on, and we must be gone.' Holly tie us to your belt, all except Butler, Katherine and Minerva"

Katherine was going to kick Artemis for this, if he survived. Which he would, because he can't die; Katherine would not allow that.

Holly was instructing No. 1 on how to attach himself to her belt properly as Butler made sure Artemis was secure, "This is it, Artemis. I've had it, I swear. When we get home I am retiring. I'm older than I look, and feel older than I am. No more plotting. Promise me?"

Artemis forced a smile, "I am simply flying to the next building. If I can not defuse the bomb, then Holly can fly it out to sea and endeavor to fin a safe spot."

It was evident to Katherine that Artemis was lying; Holly wouldn't have time to do that.

Butler handed Artemis a flat leather wallet, of sorts, "Here, my picks. So you can at least get into the works."

Artemis thanked Butler then asked if everyone was ready. This brought forth a complaint from Qwan and some various descriptive words for fear from No. 1.

Butler closed the case, "One building across. That's as far as you need to go. Get that panel off and go straight for the explosive itself. Rip out the detonator if you have to."

"Understood."

"Okay. I won't say goody bye, just good luck. I will see you as soon as I can talk us out of here."

"Thirty minutes, if that."

Then that little girl, Minerva, who had been standing there, looking ashamed of herself, which Katherine believed she should be doing, decided to speak up.

"I'm sorry Artemis. I shouldn't have gone near Mr. Kong."

Katherine was glad little miss genius could see that she had acted wrongly but now was not the time for her apology. Butler told Minerva as much and then instructed her to go 'stand by the door and look innocent.'

"But I—"

"Innocent! Now!"

To be perfectly honest it gave Katherine some mild satisfaction to see Minerva be put in her place like that. But that tiny fraction of satisfaction melted away when she came back to reality. Artemis was about to tell Holly to lift off, "Artemis, wait!"

"What is it Katherine? We are slightly pressed for time."

"I want you to promise me that I'll see you again."

"Yes, Katherine, I will be back. Now Holly—"

"No, Artemis!" He looked Katherine straight in the eyes, "I—I want you to _really_ promise me."

Artemis paused a moment then quickly pulled the necklace with the coin Holly had given him off and handed it to Katherine. "Hold that as my pledge, I promise to come for it." He gave her a small smile then told Holly to lift off.

Holly gradually did so and Katherine helped Holly steady her self. Butler nudged the group towards the window and Katherine couldn't help but follow behind Butler. He reached up and yanked on the security catch that was keeping the window shut. Suddenly they were attacked by the elements and deafened by the wind.

Katherine's eyes were watering as Butler steady the group so they wouldn't be whipped away. They were conversing and Katherine drew close enough only to catch the tail-end of the conversation.

"If something goes wrong, wait for me. No matter how it looks, I will return. I will bring them all back."

"What are you planning, Artemis? What are you going to do?"

By this time Katherine was now by Butler's side she watched them beginning to drop; faster than they should be dropping, then something happened. Holly's wings gave out; the engine couldn't take all the weight. Katherine couldn't believe what she was seeing it all seemed to go by in slow motion. She couldn't take her eyes off of them; her heart was in her throat. Then, Artemis and the others simply disappeared. Katherine's heart stopped and her stomach lurched, she would have fallen out of the window if it hadn't been for Butler pulling her back with him.

"Butler…" Katherine's eyes were wide with fear as she looked up at Butler.

"They're okay, Katherine. They're okay…" He was slightly in a daze still when they noticed Minerva crying.

"They're all dead aren't they? Because of me."

Butler placed a hand on Minerva's shoulder, "If they were all dead, it would be because of you. But they're not. Artemis has everything under control. Now, chin up, we have to talk our way out of here, daughter."

"Daughter?"

"Yes, daughter. And you," He gently pulled Katherine over towards Minerva, "are my daughter's best friend." Butler let go of Katherine's arm just in time for the Taiwanese police to burst in. Butler had about a dozen police pointing guns at him.

The museum curator directed the police to the ones they wanted, of course when he saw the destroyed exhibit he pretended to faint and when he realized no one cared he went and sulked in a corner.

One of the inspectors asked if Butler had knocked all the men out. "No, not me. We were hiding behind a crate. They blew up the sculpture then started fighting among themselves…"

Katherine didn't really hear the rest of that conversation because she was beginning to feel light headed, dizzy, and nauseous. Katherine found the nearest wall and leaned against it. Minerva walked over to Katherine and stood next to her, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a tad tired is all." Katherine smiled, putting up a front.

Minerva sighed then spoke in hushed tones, "Do you think that Artemis and the others are alright?"

"Minerva, they'll be fine. Artemis has never made a promise he didn't keep and besides he always pulls us through no matter what." She looked over at Minerva, "So I guarantee that they'll be back."

"I see…"

Katherine could tell Minerva didn't believe her but that was Minerva's loss. A sudden wave of nausea washed over Katherine almost driving her to her knees, she put her head back against the wall and drew deep breaths to settle her stomach down, for now.

"Okay, let's go ladies."

Katherine opened her eyes to see Butler standing over them. She nodded and followed behind him silently. When they reached the lobby, where they were going to wait for Artemis, suddenly Katherine couldn't hold it in any longer. She ran to the nearest (and cleanest) trash can and vomited. A dizzy spell hit her like a brick wall and everything went black.

...

The next thing Katherine knew she was on her back and Butler was leaning over her checking her vitals.

"Katherine? Katherine?" He was trying to get her to focus.

"Unh…"

"Katherine, how do you feel?"

"Like…like my heart…has been ripped from my chest."

That answer worried Butler a tad, but he decided to disregard it knowing that she was still in a daze. He tried being more specific, "How does your head feel?"

"Fuzzy, and like a train hit it."

That's what he thought, "Can you stand?"

"I can try…" with that she sat up, a tad too fast, "Ugg…"

Butler slowly helped her to her feet; that's when Katherine noticed a small crowd gathered and was officially embarrassed. What on earth was wrong with her? Why did she suddenly feel sick like this? But what ever the reason Butler sat her down in the nearest chair as the crowd slowly dispersed.

"Butler, how long was I out?"

"About an hour."

Katherine was silent for a moment then, "Oh!" She looked around. "Did Artemis come back yet?"

Butler sighed gravely, "Not yet." Then with reaffirmed determination, "But he will be soon."

Sooner slowly turned to later, hours had past and still no Artemis. Katherine was starting to feel uneasy about this, and Minerva was slowly beginning to vex her. Katherine was worried about Butler as well, he was covering it well, but she knew he was worried sick about Artemis' fate; hoping that it wasn't…sealed. Katherine wasn't able to sit still anymore, in fact she had been pacing for the last half hour. She looked over at Minerva who looked worried and tired, and was trying to keep awake.

"Butler," Katherine was standing at his side. "Would you like me to escort Minerva home?"

Butler looked down at her, "No, Artemis asked me to take care of her."

"Yes, but some one needs to stay and wait for Artemis and I just figured you'd prefer to be here."

Butler gave her a small, exhausted-looking smile, "You're right. But make sure nothing happens to her, and swear her to secrecy about today's events—at least the parts involving…well you know the drill."

"Got-cha." Katherine walked over to Minerva, "Come on, let's go."

Minerva snapped out of her groggy state, "What?"

"Come on, Minerva, time to get you home."

"But Artemis hasn't come back yet."

"I know but he would want us to get you back home to your papa."

"But…"

"Minerva, it's for your own good and Artemis would prefer you safe at home than here. … After all he did this all for _you_." The last statement left a bitter, metallic taste in Katherine's mouth.

Minerva was silent for a moment, "Alright."

It was a long, drudging ride to Minerva's home. Most of the time was spent convincing Minerva to keep the fairies and the like a secret. Katherine phoned Butler the moment she left Minerva's house, figuring that since hours had passed Artemis should be back by now.

"Butler, it's Katherine… has he shown up yet? … No? … Do you want me to come back? … Alright, then what should I do? … What do you want me to tell them? … Ok, I'll wait."

...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all his associates are the property of the ingenious Mr. Colfer. Therefore I only own my OC Katherine.**

A/N: Yay for chapter 2!

Katherine lay on her bed staring at the ceiling lost in her memories of times past, Lord she missed him. She drew a deep breath then slowly exhaled and readied her self to go downstairs and fake it for another day. Truth was even though almost three years had past she hadn't been able to move on, it killed her not knowing his fate and with everyday that past it seemed less likely he'd come back. Katherine headed downstairs to grab a bite to eat before beginning her day. The house was as still as a tomb, none of the family was up yet. She ate in a gloomy silence and as she cleaned up her mess she tried to change her attitude, she didn't want to depress anyone. She was walking in a daze down the hall towards the stairs when suddenly Katherine heard her name being called. She looked about and then finally at the top of the stairs.

"Kitty!" The twins shouted in unison; they called her Kitty because they couldn't exactly pronounce 'Katherine' correctly.

"Good morning boys." She smiled "Better not be too loud you don't wanna wake up mommy and daddy." The twins tried to toddle down the stairs, "Whoa now, hang on you two." Katherine scurried up the stairs to help the little boys down the stairs.

They took her hands and slowly went down the stairs, Miles looked up at her, "You wook sad."

Katherine looked down a moment then laughed, "Oh don't be silly, Miles, I'm just tired is all."

They both looked up at her doubtfully. It's funny how little ones can often read you like a book, especially when you don't what to be.

"Who's hungry?"

This change in subject brought a round of cheerful shouts from the boys. Luckily they were down stairs so Mr. and Mrs. Fowl couldn't hear them. So Katherine sat them down with some crayons and paper and began making breakfast. By the time breakfast was on the table Mr. and Mrs. Fowl were up.

Mr. Fowl gave both his boys a kiss on the top f their heads, "Good morning Miles, Beckett and Miss. Katherine" He smiled at her. "You are such a good care taker, you always know what my boys need and how to keep them happy," at the moment both Miles and Beckett were thoroughly enjoying their breakfasts. "You used to do that for all of them…" He smiled sadly then patted her on the head.

Just then Angeline walked in, "Mommy!" The boys cheered loudly and wiggled out of their seats and ran up to her.

She smiled brightly, "How are my little ones this morning?" she bent down to hug them and received a sticky hug, Mrs. Fowl laughed. "Sticky, apparently."

The boys just laughed, thinking it was funny to get mommy sticky. It was a good thing Mrs. Fowl didn't mind. Mr. Fowl walked over to join his happy family and gave Angeline a kiss, getting a 'Eww.' from the boys. Just then the house phone rang and Katherine left the happy scene to answer it.

"Fowl residence may I ask who's speaking?"

"Hello Katherine, it's me, Butler."

"Hey, Butler. How's it going?"

"Fine, I have some news."

"News? What kind of news?"

"Good news. Katherine…he's…he's back."

Katherine thought she was hearing things, "Come again?"

"Katherine, Artemis is home. He just walked in my house and…here just talk to him."

"…" All other sound in the world suddenly seemed muted for a brief period of time.

Suddenly a familiar voice graced Katherine's ear, "Hello Katherine, it's been a while."

"A-artemis?"

"Tell my parents, I'm sorry and that Butler and I will be home soon."

She managed to sputter out the words, 'Do you want to talk to them?'

A deep, sorrowful sigh static-ed across the phone line, "No, it'd be too hard. Th-they'll have to wait till I get home..."

There was a long silence, "Artemis I—"

"I'm sorry, Katherine, it'll have to wait. Butler needs to make a few other calls."

"O-okay." And with that the conversation ended, slowly Katherine put the phone back on the receiver and walked back into the dinning room.

Mr. Fowl looked up to see a pale Katherine; he furrowed his brow, "Katherine, who was that?"

"…It was Artemis…" she looked over at them, "He's home."

It only to a second for it to sink in, then Mrs. Fowl couldn't hold it in any longer she started to cry from relief and Mr. Fowl tried not to. The twins then started crying because mommy was crying and Katherine, well Katherine stood in stunned silence. She watched the family before her, each parent had one of the boys in their arms and they looked happier (and more confused)than Katherine had seen them in years. Katherine withdrew from the dinning room to give them some time alone. This would be the first time the boys would get to see their big brother, they knew who he was they had just never met him. Honestly they knew him pretty well though, because Katherine told them stories about him all the time of course they were limited stories since she had too keep the fairies hush-hush, and not to mention some of their not-so-legal adventures together had to be kept mum…but other than that the other stories were fine. Katherine flopped down on her bed, her mind spinning her heart racing, but wait … her heart. Her heart, she knew it was racing but she couldn't _feel_ it racing. This whole thing was confusing, not only did it have her baffled but it had some of the best doctors confused as well; a girl with no heart beat a live and well? She was breathing deep now to calm her nerves, slowly, rhythmically… soporifically.

...


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all his associates belong to the ingenious Mr. Colfer. Therefore I only own my OC Katherine**

_A/N: Chapter three is up and running, once this is up I probably won't be updating for a while_

Katherine shot up gasping the light in her room was fading

Katherine shot up gasping the light in her room was fading. How long had she been out? It must at least be past mid-day by now perhaps even early evening. She ran her fingers through her hair with a long sigh.

Then it dawned on her, "Artemis!" And with that she dashed out of bed and to her door she was about to open when she stopped. Katherine slowly let her hand slip from the door knob; Artemis needed to spend time with his family. She turned back to go to her desk when she heard the faint traces of the musical voice of, none other than, Minerva Paradizo. It was like an arrow pierced her heart; Minerva was downstairs with the Fowl family. Katherine was suddenly drowning in sadness she slumped down to her knees holding back her tears. Minerva had grown up to be quite beautiful and quite smart, Katherine feared this would keep her invisible to the one whom she longed to see. She kind of figured that Artemis would have spent time with his family for the first week or so but after that she thought she might be able to see him. But now things changed, Minerva was here spending time with Artemis and Artemis' family.

It was killing her on the inside to think about this, Minerva being so _perfect_ and all. It truly disturbed her and distressed her. Some one knocked on Katherine's door she took a deep breath, "Yes?"

"Katherine it's Butler."

"Hang on." Katherine stood slightly shaky in the knees and opened her door. There stood Butler looking a tad scraggly still, "Hey Butler, what's up?"

"I was just concerned; Mrs. Fowl was worried as well. She said you've been up here since you got off the phone with Artemis. Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine I just feel asleep is all."

Butler frowned, "Did you not sleep well last night?"

"Oh no, I slept fine. I just needed some … extra sleep."

His frown deepened, "That makes no sense Katherine. You must be sick, 'cause I know you and I know that if you'd been feeling well you would have been helping Mrs. Fowl ready the twins to meet Artemis."

Katherine was silent and she looked away. "Fine you caught me, I wasn't feeling well. I was a tad lighted headed is all."

"What is making you light headed? Blood sugar too low? Really bad head ache? … Heart problems?" He said the last on rather pointedly.

Katherine frowned, "I don't know. But, I do know that earlier my heart was racing but I couldn't _feel_ it racing, ya know."

He let out a big, heavy sigh, "We need to figure out what is wrong with your heart."

"But every doctor I go to freaks out when they don't hear a heart beat. Of course hopefully any doctor would."

"We can only hope." Butler smiled a small smile at her humor. "I'm glad you can find humor in all this."

"So am I, other wise my world would be a dismal place right now." She decided to change the subject before any questions were asked, "How's Artemis taking to being a big brother?"

"..." Butler understood what she was trying to do and he let it slide, "Well, he's not quit used to it but I think he'll manage." Butler smiled, "why don't you come see for yourself?"

Minerva's musical voice floated up to their grace their ears when Katherine did not reply and Butler saw Katherine cringe slightly.

"Listen Katherine, I know what you're thinking but I think you've got it wrong."

"Tch…sure I do. Minerva is just stunningly beautiful and smart as a whip is all. Not Artemis' type in the least." Sarcasm was dripping from her voice.

Butler sighed, "Well, if you don't believe me fine, but I am going back downstairs to enjoy someone I've missed terribly." And with that he left Katherine alone.

Katherine missed Artemis just as bad in fact it was killing her inside to not run down stairs to see Artemis but she didn't think she could handle the sight of Minerva. Something about Minerva just drove her nuts, of course it could have something to do with jealousy…Katherine sighed she didn't know why she was getting jealous it's not like she even stood a chance. Minerva was a beautiful genius who could give Artemis a run for his money, and everything that Artemis deserved. Katherine turned on her CD player and flopped down on her bed, turning on her CD player was probably the worst thing she could have done. Her CDs were mostly composed of bitter-sweet love songs not exactly the kind of music that would make her any happier.

Shortly after Butler left another, softer, knock came on Katherine's door. She sighed and rolled her eyes; Katherine turned off her CD player and answered the door. She nearly fell over when two little people wrapped themselves around her legs, the twins. "Whoa, guys calm down. What's wrong?"

"Kitty! Come play with us--"

"We bored!" Miles finished Beckett's sentence.

"How can you be bored? You've got your big brother to play with… and Miss Minerva."

"They no fun!" Miles pouted.

"They don't wanna play our games!" Beckett and Miles were both clinging to her legs and all out begging now. "Pwease!!"

"Okay, okay. Just calm down." Katherine was hiding her smile; they were awfully adorable, kind of made her wonder what Artemis was like when he was about three.

At this the boys let out a joyous celebration and grabbed her hands and started walking her out of her room. Miles and Beckett were both talking about a million miles a minute simultaneously as they took her downstairs.

"Where exactly are you two taking me?" they were currently drawing nearer to the drawing room where Mr. and Mrs. Fowl were with their son and company.

"To the pretty room..." Miles looked up at Katherine.

"W-why are we going there?" Katherine knew that he meant the parlor where Artemis and his family would be.

"'Cause, that's where people are…" Beckett was also looking up at her; they had stopped mere feet from the 'pretty' room.

"Well, why don't we go play in the library since it's bigger and we can even get out side from there?" She was trying to appeal to their boyish side.

Lucky for her the boys' eyes lit up, they both cheered and dragged her in the other direction. Little did she know Artemis had been watching them. Katherine and the boys spent the next few hours playing army in the library, they currently conquering a country when Mrs. Fowl came in.

"We take this country in the name of our King!" Katherine was pretending to place a flag down in the capitol building, which was _of course_ imaginary. The boys cheered like a rowdy crew.

Beckett spotted mommy first and immediately dropped his soldier act, "Mommy, we just tooked Spain!"

"Oh, really now?" Mrs. Fowl was chuckling now, "Was it hard?"

Miles ran up to mommy's other leg, "Not with Captain Kitty!"

Mrs. Fowl laughed, "Well, Captain Kitty and her crew better come and get ready for dinner." Mrs. Fowl looked up at Katherine, "Would you mind helping me with the boys?"

"Certainly not, I'd love to help." Katherine took Beckett in her arms and Mrs. Fowl took Miles and they headed up stairs to dress the boys for dinner.

They brought the boys into their room and began to dress them in their dinner clothes, Mrs. Fowl looked over at Katherine who was busy distracting Beckett with a story as she dressed him in his stuffy little clothes. She smiled, Katherine had a way with children, especially her sons…including her eldest. "Katherine you'll be joining us, right?"

Katherine looked over at Mrs. Fowl, "Oh, um…I don't really have that type of dinner clothes." She was making excuses, she could have found something if she really wanted to. The Fowl's never really had formal dinners when Artemis had been missing so Katherine truthfully wasn't completely prepared for it…

"Oh non sense you can borrow something of mine if you need to. Besides it's in celebration of Artemis' return and it wouldn't be complete with out you." Mrs. Fowl smiled at Katherine.

The boys chimed in there agreement pleading her to come to dinner, "I suppose I could find…something to wear." Katherine frowned on the inside that was the last place she wanted to be sitting at a table forced to be in the company of one she despised. Wow, she never thought she would ever _despise_ some one…but I guess there's a first for everything.

...

Meanwhile in another part of the house…

"Butler," Artemis was talking from inside his closet. "That was Katherine I saw earlier, correct?"

Butler was standing by the bedroom door, "When did you see her?"

"Ah, so it was her then. She was escorting my younger siblings somewhere."

"Then yes that was definitely Katherine." Butler was curious now, "Why do you ask?"

Artemis shuffled around in his closet, "I was just curious to know if that was her, does she visit here often?"

Butler sighed, "No..."

Artemis walked out of the closet adjusting his tie, "Oh."

"She lives here."

Artemis paused a moment, "Excuse me?"

Butler grimaced "She lives here. After you disappeared she stuck around waiting for you to return. Then the twins were born and she kind of became a big sister to them."

Artemis looked slightly confused, "Why would she wait here?"

Butler sighed heavily, even though Artemis was a genius he still was a teenage boy regardless. "If you don't know now… then you'll probably never know..."

. . ...

Katherine sighed as she went through her closet _'…What to wear…'_ just then a knock on her doorway. Katherine looked over, it was Mrs. Fowl, "Oh come on in."

Mrs. Fowl entered, dressed elegantly "Need help?"

"Yeah…I'm kind of short on nice clothes."

"Oh come now, you have nice clothes I'm sure." Mrs. Fowl riffled through her closet a while, "Here this skirt is perfect for dinner," she pulled out a knee length black skirt, "and this shirt matches perfectly." She was now holding up a lilac button up blouse. "_And_ it brings out your eyes!" Angeline smiled.

"I didn't even know I owned that shirt." The tag was still dangling from the sleeve; it was obviously something a relative must have bought her, "Thanks for your help, Mrs. Fowl."

"Any time, dear, dinner is in ten. And Katherine…"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for watching the twins earlier, it helped." And with that Angeline left so Katherine could change.

Mrs. Fowl must've meant earlier when the boys had come upstairs to get her, Mrs. Fowl must have sent them up. Katherine sighed as she looked her self over I the mirror, she frowned at her self. She was the exact opposite of Minerva in looks as well as personality. Not to say she was ugly, she just wasn't the "perfect", beautiful girl. No blonde hair, no fair skin and blue eyes. Just dark hair and olive skin, though some might argue that her green eyes of set her skin tone quite nicely, but she would beg to differ.

She combed her fingers through her hair then made her way down stairs the anticipation of the thing was gripping her, the closer she got to the sitting room where they would wait for dinner to be ready the more she wanted to run the other way. _'No…Katherine, you need to do this…but…I-- I can't…'_ She stopped just feet from the doorway; she leaned against the wall, and took a deep breath.

"Katherine?"

Katherine's eyes flew open and there before her stood, Artemis. Katherine wanted to cry, she wanted to laugh, she wanted to hug him; oh how she had missed the figure that stood before her. But she controlled her urges and put up a calm, friendly front, "H-hi, Artemis." She nearly choked on her words.

Artemis seemed to be observing her, "Long time no see?"

"Yeah…" Could she sound any more pathetic? She was even starting to feel sick and light headed now, a stabbing pain resided where her heart should be.

"Butler informed me that you've been living here."

"That's right." She was hiding her pain, it was getting worse.

"I'm slightly curious to--" Just then they were informed that dinner was ready to be served and they were joined by his family and Minerva thus ending their conversation.

It was a good thing for Katherine because she had begun to feel as if she might pass out. She fell behind a tad so as not to get noticed but Butler had his eye on her and he slowed his pace to hers, "Katherine are you feeling alright?" His voice was quite as not to attract attention.

"…Not really, I feel kind of…sick."

"Dizzy, Nauseated?"

Katherine had stopped walking now, "Both…" her knees gave way and Butler caught her before she fell down completely. The twins saw this and both let out a gasp of terror drawing everyone's eyes and attention in Katherine's direction.

"Oh my word, Katherine!" Mrs. Fowl was astonished "Butler, what happened? Is she alright?"

Butler frowned slightly, "I'm not sure what's going on but she'll be alright." Under his breath he added 'I hope'

Katherine felt her face grow hot not only from the embarrassment but also from this sudden wave of sickness. She felt as though she was about to pass out and puke, hopefully not in that order. Katherine was struggling to breath now and her vision was getting blurred, "Ugh..." Things were beginning to fade, she saw Butler and Mrs. Fowl leaning over her and talking to her but she couldn't hear a thing. Things were getting darker now and consciousness was slipping from her, the last thing she saw was Artemis looking down over…he looked worried.

...


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all his associates are property of the in-genius Mr. Colfer. Therefore I only own Miss. Katherine**

Artemis frowned at Butler, "What is going on, old friend? I know you aren't telling me the whole story."

"Artemis, honestly, I don't know. I have gone with her to several doctors and the only thing they can find and not to mention have a hard time understanding is that she has no heart beat."

Artemis just stared at Butler, this was ludicrous "Butler there must be some other explanation. People cannot live without a heartbeat, no heart beat means that the person is dead. Katherine is obviously still alive and unwell. She has been unconscious for four days now something is obviously wrong."

Butler frowned, this was becoming very difficult to explain "Artemis, she has _no_ heartbeat, if you'd like you see for yourself be my guest. Aside from her missing heartbeat everything is normal with her health." Of course, a missing heartbeat, in itself, is indeed an oddity.

Artemis glanced down at her then leaned in close and listened "…" Nothing, Artemis heard…nothing. Suddenly Artemis felt strange his heart seemed to be beating out of rhythm or in rhythm…with something. Katherine stirred slightly, Artemis stepped back and she was still again, the feeling faded away from his chest.

There was a knock at the bedroom door; Artemis looked over at it as Butler went to see to it. Artemis heard Butler conversing with Minerva, he looked back at Katherine. She looked so helpless limply lying there like someone had sucked the life out of her. Artemis sighed, _'What is wrong my friend? What can I do to help?_'for the first time in a long while Artemis felt useless. He got up to go see what Miss. Paradizo wanted but as he did he saw something glisten out of the corner of his eye and his attention was back on Katherine. He leaned down and picked up what was glistening; it was the coin Holly had given him, she was still wearing it. He smirked, _'Guess she believed me when I said I'd be back for it._' Artemis had completely fibbed to her that day, mostly because he had no idea how that situation was going to play out. But he supposed that in the long run he hadn't really fibbed to her, he did come back.

He rubbed the coin between his thumb and forefinger; he decided to let her keep wearing it till she came to, for good luck, well...as best of luck as you can have when you're unconscious. He let go of the coin and it fell on her chest before gravity pulled it back to the crook between her neck and shoulder where it had been keeping the coin. Artemis' ears started to ring and his heart beat was out of sync, or so it seemed, just then Katherine's eyes flew open and she shot up smacking her and Artemis foreheads together, and the noise was quite audible. Artemis fell back onto his butt on the floor gripping his face with both his hands.

"Ooo" Katherine had her hand on her forehead; she could already feel a bruise coming on. She looked over to see who she had smacked hoping it wasn't one of the twins; they had a habit of jumping on her bed in the morning, usually on Saturdays. Katherine turned bright red, it wasn't either of the twins it was Artemis! What the heck was he doing in her bedroom any ways? She got up and kneel-ed down next to him, "Are you okay, Artemis? Do you need me to get you anything?" her cheeks were hot with embarrassment.

Butler and Minerva had come over when they heard the noise, "What happened?" Butler looked a little confused.

"I don't know! I woke up, sat up, and ended up smacking foreheads with Artemis. What is he even doing in here anyways?"

Artemis frowned, "I was here checking up on you with Butler. You've been passed out for the past four days."

"W-what?" She felt a flood of emotions: embarrassment, confusion, but most of all a little frightened. I mean it wasn't normal to be unconscious for four days and then suddenly wake up. For the first time she was actually scared about what was going on with her health.

...


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all his associates are property of the en-genius Mr. Colfer. Therefore I only own Miss. Katherine**

Katherine couldn't believe this, she had spoiled everything. The nice dinner that had been planned, ruined. Any sort of hope for a graceful reunion with Artemis was _completely_ demolished. _'This is just great, not only do I have no idea what is going on with me, but I also complete ruined Artemis' coming home for everyone.'_ She groaned mentally this was not how she pictured her reunion with Artemis going at all. It seemed that the score was, Katherine: 0 'Fate the Cruel Mistress': 1.

...

Artemis felt flooded with feelings: confusion, possibly from the flood of emotion, frightened...embarrassed? Hold on just one moment. Artemis had never felt embarrassed like this ever in his life, why was he suddenly feeling like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Artemis frowned, something was not right here.

...

Butler sighed, this was crazy. Katherine was obviously very sick but the 'what is wrong' part was elusive. He could not think of a logical reason that this should be happening, Katherine was healthy on all accounts, and there was no history of heart problems in her family. What was the cause...?

Well, regardless of what was causing it, she was okay now and that is important.

...

Mrs. Fowl was not happy in the least with how this was being handled. Katherine was sick she needed to see a doctor; however, Butler was doing his best to prevent that from happening. She sighed, right then her husband walked into the room.

"Is there something the matter, dear?"

"Well, it's Katherine. She is obviously in need of medical attention but for some reason Butler is insisting that, she is fine. I know he's lying I just do not know why he would lie about this."

"Would you like me to talk with him, my love?"

"Well, yes…and no. You see I know he cares for Katherine as if she were sort of like his daughter. So I know he would never do anything to hurt her but I just don't understand why he refuses this."

Mr. Fowl sighed and wrapped his arms around her, "Well, I'll just talk to him, because sometimes we can get clouded with emotions when it comes to those we care about."

"Alright." Mrs. Fowl leaned her head on his shoulder.

…

Butler had shooed Artemis and Miss Paradizo out of Katherine's room, Katherine was now dozing after he had checked her vitals. He sighed and rubbed his temples, he was getting a headache from all of this. What in heavens name was wrong with her? She was perfectly fine in all regards he just could not hear her heart beat, which was a problem. He had put her through many tests in the previous years after it was discovered that her heartbeat was missing. She passed every test with excellence, she was healthy as a horse, her missing heartbeat was very baffling, and Butler still had a hard time wrapping his mind around the concept.

He glanced over at Katherine she was sleeping peacefully. It was odd when Artemis was around she would feel ill but the moment he was gone her symptoms subsided. Butler stood up and headed towards the door, he was going to go have a talk with young master Fowl. He knocked on Artemis' door and he got no reply. Butler opened the door slightly; Artemis had a habit of being consumed with research and not answering. He could see Artemis bathed in the glow of his computer screen avidly researching something. Butler cleared his throat and Artemis glanced up, "Artemis we need to talk about what is going on with Katherine."

"I figured as much and I have started researching her symptoms."

Butler should have known, he entered Artemis' room and stood next to Artemis' chair and looked at the many computer screens in front of the young boy; he could see that Artemis had been hard at work. "Have you found anything?"

"Not anything that you have not had Katherine tested for already."

"I see" Butler frowned and doubted that even Artemis would be able to figure it out what is wrong with Katherine. "Do you have any suspicions of what it could be?"

Artemis sighed, "Well, I am baffled by her symptoms, even when we omit her lack of heartbeat. That in itself is a rather difficult concept to grasp. Her heartbeat is the only thing missing? Not her heart as well?"

"That's the thing, every time we have tried to check her heart; it looks like it's there but for some reasons the doctors can not tell for sure. It is odd, they heart doctors always seem to have this unaware, mystified continence about them."

"Strange…" Artemis turned back to his research. He paused a moment, "Maybe…" He leaned forward on his elbows, his hands clasped and thought for a moment then sat back into his chair. "Perhaps, we need to have a talk with a dear old friend of ours?"

"Artemis—" just then they were interrupted by Mrs. Fowl.

"Artemis, your father and I are taking Miss. Katherine to the hospital and I was wondering if you would like to join us."

"Mother, I thought that Butler told you that everything was fine with Ms. Katherine."

"Well, I feel, and your father feels, that it would be in Katherine's best interest to go to the hospital. Therefore, we are taking her just to make one hundred percent sure that she is all right."

Artemis sighed, "But mother—"

"Artemis, your father and I have decided and that's final. Either you come with us or you stay home but those are the only options available."

Artemis and Butler exchanged glances, they seemed to understand what the other was saying, "Alright, mother, I will be joining you. Please wait for me I need to finish up a few things quickly."

"Of course, Arty. But make it quick." With that Angeline left them to go to her husband.

Butler looked at Artemis, "We need to make sure nothing happens to her while she's there."

"Yes, I know. It will be difficult with a case like her's, she will attract lots of attention." Artemis closed all his research, pulled himself out of the chair and headed downstairs with his faithful bodyguard to escort Katherine to the hospital.

_A/N: It's been a while since the last update. Lots of papers to write. This is a small chapter cause there was lots of writers block involved and I am still rearranging the plot and working out all the kinks. So, I apologize if this is less than up to par, I might just revamp it later._


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all his associates are property of the en-genius Mr. Colfer. Therefore I only own Miss. Katherine**

"Mrs. Fowl, I'm fine really. I don't need to go to the hospital; Butler has it all taken care of."

"Nonsense. Besides, as much as I trust Butler I have an uneasy feeling about this."

Katherine groan inwardly, she knew Mrs. Fowl only wanted the best but she had this feeling deep in her gut that this was going to blow up in her face and she'd become some sort of medical anomaly and/or freak; and wouldn't that just be a barrel of fun. Butler and Artemis walked up besides her.

"Ready to go?" Artemis lips twitched into what some would call a grimace but for Artemis it qualified as a smile. "Do not worry, Katherine, I have an idea. You won't be kept at the hospital for long."

Katherine wasn't sure what to say, it had been so long since she been a part of any of Artemis' schemes. "O-okay" She felt like such an idiot right now, everyone should be happy and celebrating the fact that Artemis was alive and had returned.

Butler had a faint smile on his lips, "Let's hope it's not too crazy a plan. After all it's your first week back." Butler laughed to himself; he had begun to feel so old as of late. However, he was sure that Artemis wouldn't let him feel that way much longer due to Master Fowl's habit for wild plots and schemes.

"I would like to come with as well." A voice appeared seemingly out of nowhere, but Katherine knew that voice all too well, it was Minerva.

"Actually, Minerva, I think it'd be best if you stayed behind this time." Artemis' words brought mild satisfaction to Katherine, though she was starting to feel a bit light headed.

"But, Artemis, I should really be there for Ms. Katherine." Minerva was simply trying to weasel time with Artemis. Why she would want to spend time with him at a hospital was a mystery to Katherine though.

Artemis put on that fake smile of his, "I honestly think that it would make Katherine feel much better if you stayed. She already feels embarrassed enough as it is. Why don't you stay and enjoy the garden, we should not be gone long."

Minerva, having been put in her place (at least in Katherine's mind) and unable to argue with out risking looking like she was faking concern, conceded to Artemis' wish. Shortly there after Mr. and Mrs. Fowl joined the three of them and they set out to the nearest hospital.

The entire ride there Katherine was getting light headed, she was sitting next to Artemis and could hear a heart beat ringing in her ears. Of course, she didn't tell anyone that would have made things worse. As they continued on to the hospital, Katherine was getting tired and she began dozing off only to be awakened by a bump or by accidentally hitting her head on the window.

. . . .

Artemis glanced over at Katherine. She was nodding off again, he felt bad not only was she sick for no apparent reason but _he_ seemed to be making it worse. Katherine sat up awake once again and looked over at him, they were caught in a stare for just a fleeting moment and then Katherine turned away distracting herself with some other thing. However, at that moment Artemis felt his cheeks grow hot and his heart skipped a beat. On the other hand, was that his heart? He could not very well tell anymore, as of late he seemed out of sorts when it came to Katherine.

. . . .

Butler couldn't help but wonder what Artemis had in mind. It seemed as though he wanted to get Katherine to fairies, as if her illness really was not a true illness but a spell of some sort. That could explain why nothing seemed to make sense, he couldn't help but think that those little people were slightly crazy. Whatever it was that Artemis was planning, he was up for it. He had actually missed going on adventures with him, even if they were extremely dangerous a majority of the time.

Butler caught them staring at each other in his rearview mirror and chuckled to himself. Would Artemis ever catch on? He couldn't possibly be that unaware of Katherine's feelings. Honestly, it was obvious to every one else, so he must have a vague idea.

. . . .

As the car pulled up to the hospital a knot was forming in Katherine's stomach. She was dreading what was to come next. "Her we go again...," she was muttering under her breath in anticipation.

Reluctantly, Katherine was shooed into the hospital by Mrs. Fowl. "Come on dear, we're just going to have an extra look. I'm sure things will be fine." Mrs. Fowl gently placed a hand on her arm and smiled.

Katherine cringed inside but smiled on the outside. Mrs. Fowl was being so sweet; she really did care about Katherine's health, but what Mrs. Fowl didn't know was that things were going to get worse because they were at the hospital.

She threw a worried glance at Artemis and Butler. Butler reassured her with a nod and Artemis simply just smiled his typical 'I've-got-the-Ace-up-my-sleeve' smile. Somehow, Katherine found that reassuring. Maybe it was because she missed him so terribly or maybe she had merely become forgetful of the typically crazy events that followed that devilish smile.

At any rate Mr. and Mrs. Fowl proceeded to check Katherine in, they were a well-known family to say the least and put on a shorter waiting list consequently. However, because it was a hospital the group still had to make use of the hospitals well-furnished waiting room.

Once again, Katherine was sitting next to Artemis and she was starting to feel the nausea coming on. So she leaned her elbow on the armrest and rested her head on her hand; it helped her head feel slightly less fuzzy not to have to hold it up on its own.

"I have an idea-"

The low voice near her ear spooked her and she jolted. She looked up at Artemis who motioned for her to relax.

"I have an idea, but I will need to contact Foaly. Do you have any idea of his whereabouts?"

"No, I haven't heard from them in a while. Artemis what are you planning?"

"You'll see..." Artemis smiled at her, the sight of which nearly knocked Katherine off her seat. She had only seen him smile so kindly once or twice, Katherine's face was flushing now and she felt that feeling in the pit of her stomach once again. . .

_A/N: So I was considering deleting this story becuase I never have spare time to write. When suddenly both my time and and writes block were freed up. I hope this chapter isn't disappointing... Reason for the updated version:I found a couple mistakes in here that I needed to fix._


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all his associates are property of the en-genius Mr. Colfer. Therefore I only own Miss. Katherine**

_"You'll see..." Artemis smiled at her, the sight of which nearly knocked Katherine off her seat. She had only seen him smile so kindly once or twice, Katherine's face was flushing now and she felt that feeling in the pit of her stomach once again. . ._

Katherine vomited into Artemis' lap. She could have died just then, it felt as if every single person had to stop and stare to see her humiliation. Katherine's eyes were as big as saucers, "I am so sorry Artemis. Oh my gosh, I—"

Artemis' held up his hand motioning her to just stop talking. His eyes were closed and he sat motionless.

"Oh Lord. Artemis, we'll get you cleaned up right away." Mrs. Fowl and some nurses began tending to Artemis while some were taking Katherine back to be examined.

. . . .

Butler couldn't help but chuckle, even if the situation wasn't all that amusing. This could throw a wrench into any plans that Artemis had, which would mean that they could be set back quite a while.

"Butler", Mrs. Fowl had just come back from escorting her son to a rest room, "Could you please fetch Artemis a new set of clothes. I'm afraid his suit is ruined."

"Yes Ma'am."

. . . .

Artemis felt disgusting, never in his entire life had he felt so gross, not even after he had that nasty experience with the trolls. As he sat in the rest room in the hospital gown that the nurses had given it to him to wear temporarily after he had cleaned himself off, he reflected on that particular moment. Artemis recalled feeling a sudden rush of blood to his cheeks, his heart was pounding and his stomach was in a knot just before Katherine decided to share her past meals with him. It was odd; Artemis did not recall anything that should have triggered such physical responses from him.

At any rate, Artemis felt the need to check on Katherine but was inhibited by the gown he was wearing. There was no way Artemis would set foot into a hallway dressed like a hospital patient. Artemis sighed, he decided to meditate and finalize his plans to get Katherine out of here.

. . . .

Katherine was sitting on the hospital bed dangling her feet waiting for the nurses to return. Luckily, they hadn't examined her yet let alone hooked her up to any heart monitors, yet.

One of the nurses walked back in, "Hello, Ms. Katherine." The woman had a very heavy Irish accent.

"Uh, hello." Katherine was starting to feel uneasy.

"Mrs. Fowl says you passed out and remained unconscious for four days?" The nurse was adjusting her stethoscope, "Yeah?"

"Um, yeah. But I suddenly woke up—"

"Now you're here and vomiting?" The nurse chuckled a little, she was trying t make Katherine a little more at ease.

"H-heh, yeah…" Katherine shifted uneasily, the nurses "humor" wasn't all that funny. Especially since the nurse was wielding a stethoscope, which was quite possibly the scariest thing she had ever seen, at least in here current situation it was.

"Well, don't you worry. We'll figure out what's wrong with ya and hopefully get you outta here soon." The nurse warmed the stethoscope with her breath. "Now, lift up your shirt a little in the back and we'll take a listen to your heart."

Katherine groaned internally, 'Here we go…' she lifted her shirt a bit and breathed deeply.

The nurse paused a moment, "Take another deep breath for me?"

Katherine did as she requested, steady and slow.

The nurse looked a little befuddled, she relocated the stethoscope and tried again, they repeated this process a couple times. "Alright…" the nurse stepped back. "I'm just going to step out and fetch a doctor. You lie down and don't worry. I'll be back." With that, the nurse disappeared.

Katherine thought she could hear her nurse yelling for a doctor as she went through the halls.

. . . .

Finally, there was a knock on the door. "Hello?"

"Artemis, it's me Butler. I have your clothes."

"Ah, thank you." Artemis cracked open the door and grabbed his clothes from his faithful bodyguard. "Very much appreciated, Butler."

"It's what I'm here for." Butler chuckled and left Artemis to dress.

By the time Artemis was full dressed and had joined the others there was a problem. "Butler, I would like to go check on Katherine and see how she is doing."

"I do not think that is going to be possible, Artemis. They took Katherine up to intensive care after the doctor could not find her heart beat, they have her hooked up to a heart monitor and are having her do some physical tests right now." Butler frowned and rubbed his temples, he was starting to get a headache.

"Hmm…That is a problem." Artemis scratched his chin a bit. "Well then, we'll just have to go to plan B. Butler, let's go. We'll leave Katherine in the care of the nurses and my parents, you and I have some work to do."

"I don't like the idea of leaving Katherine here alone."

"My parents will be able to handle it, do not worry."

"Alright, I am going to trust you. But should anything go wrong…"

"It won't. I'll tell my parents to make sure that the doctors do nothing more than test and x-rays on Katherine."

"Fine. Stay with your parents I'm going to pull the car around." With that, Butler left Artemis by his parents' side and headed to the parking garage.

"Mother, father, I need to run back home as I have something important that needs to be taken care of."

"Artemis, don't you want to stay and find out what is happening with Katherine?" Angeline frowned.

"You'll have to call me and inform me, this business cannot wait."

Mr. Fowl looked at his son disappointedly, "Son, business does not come before family or friends. I know that I had not exactly set the best example of this in the past but this is how the Fowl family is going to live and I need you to be on bored."

"Father, I know that Ms. Katherine is important but this particular piece of business is very important."

"Artemis, this is disappointing. You know, if it were you up there Katherine would not leave until she knew that you would be okay."

"I know that, father. She is an extraordinarily loyal friend, there are few like her."

"You're a bright boy, Artemis," Mr. Fowl placed his hands on his son's shoulders and looked him in the eye. "And I love you to death. But sometimes you can be a bit thick."

"Excuse me?" Artemis had never been called thick in his entire life and it surprised him that his father would be the first to call him so.

Angeline stepped in, "I think what your father is trying to say dear is that you don't seem to be picking up on the signs very well… However, if you feel that this business is more important to you go ahead and go." His mother was playing the card that every woman inherits when they have children, guilt.

"It's not that it is necessarily more important, mother. It's just that this business that I have to attend to could help Ms. Katherine."

"Alright, if you insist." Angeline let her son go right as Butler pulled up out side with the car. She watched Artemis head out to the car and drive away. Angeline sighed heavily. "When will he start coming around? He is going to have to be a better example for the boys and I'd hate to see Katherine's heart get broken."

"I know Dearest." Artemis Sr. kissed his wife forehead, "But, if I know our son, he'll come around in the end. After all, he does have some of you in him, whether he shows it often or not."

Angeline smiled up at her husband, and hoped that Artemis would turn out just like his father.

. . . .

Artemis was watching the scenery zoom by as he thought about the conversation with his parents. What wasn't he catching on to? Regardless, he could not let that bother him right now. He needed to concentrate on finding Holly or Mulch, either one would really do.

"Butler, Katherine said she hadn't heard from Holly or Mulch in over a year. Have you heard from any of them?"

"As a matter of fact it's been a few months. However, I do know that Foaly keeps surveillance satellite on the house so he shouldn't be that hard to find."

"Good." They pulled up to the Fowl Manor and parked. "We're going to need all the computers running."

"Of course, Artemis."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all his associates are property of the en-genius Mr. Eion Colfer. Therefore I only own Miss. Katherine.**

_A/N: I went back and fixed the twins names only because people kept pointing it out. I would like to remind my readers that I started writing this **right** after the Lost Colony came out, so in my story Katherine was supposed to have some influence over their names but what ever makes you guys happy..._

The pair entered the Fowl Manor and made their way to the study where Artemis used to run all his computers. The study was eerily quite as if no one had been in the room for a couple years. It was true, the computers were covered and Artemis' study had remained untouched since his disappearance.

Chills ran up Artemis' spine when he thought about how long he had been gone. He had missed almost three years of his life… Butler placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, let's find Holly."

"…Right."

With that, the two of them set to work uncovering the computers and starting everything up. Just as Artemis sat down to start his searching, he heard the door creak open. Artemis turned to see who it was and he saw two very upset little boys. Immediately his brothers ran to him.

"Arwty!" They had attached themselves to either leg.

The boys looked up at him all puppy eyed, Beckett spoke first, "Is Kitty gonna die?!"

"What?" Artemis was not really sure what to do with himself, he was not yet used to have small children around.

Miles got all offended cause Artemis did not seem to understand, "Is Kitty gonna die?"

"No, who put such nonsense in your head." Artemis felt weird about this; his younger siblings whom he barely knew were clinging to him with all the might they could muster.

"We're scared, Kitty can't die." Beckett and Miles started crying now.

Artemis sighed, crying children were kind of a nuance, "She is not going to die. I do not know who told you such lies but you need to stop crying."

They sniffled and wiped their noses on their sleeves, "Y-you sure?" Miles looked desperate to know.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Then you're gonna save her like you _always_ do?" Beckett's tears were forgotten for the moment.

"What?"

"Yeah, you always saved the day in Kitty's stories!" Miles was climbing into Artemis' lap followed by Beckett.

Artemis did not know what to do; he had no idea how to handle small children. Moreover, what were they talking about? What stories? "What do you mean? Kitty— I mean, Katherine told you stories?"

"YEAH!"

"Tell us a story." Beckett pleaded with Artemis.

"I don't know any stories."

Miles frowned, "How come? All Kitty's stories is about you?"

"Really?"

"Yup," Beckett confirmed, "You always, _always_ get everyone out of a mess."

"Hmm…" Is that how Katherine saw him, as... a hero? No, Artemis thought, surely Katherine was not so...so..imaginative. Every one knew that Artemis was not exactly a hero, per se. Though, Artemis did appreciate her acknowledgement of his genius.

Just then, Butler walked back in the room, "Ready to get started?"

"Uh…yes." Artemis would have to find out about these 'stories' later. "You two should go find something to do; I have some important work to take care of."

"Awright." The twins climbed down from Artemis' lap and scrambled out the door.

Butler chuckled, "I think that's the first time I saw you with kids in your lap, though I'm sure it's not going to be the last."

Artemis clicked through some files, "The twins were telling me that Katherine told them stories about me?"

"Really?"

"Do you know anything about this?"

"All I can say is that you are basically a hero in the mind of your brothers. She only ever told them true stories, and only the ones with out illegal activity." Butler eyed Artemis briefly. However few those may be, most things those two did together were technically illegal or involved the People. Mind you Katherine never partook in the illegal actions, but still.

"Ah…well I hope she didn't make me out to be something I'm not."

"No, Artemis she didn't. She told them everything and she exposed your flaws."

"Oh, well that's good."

" But do you know why they still look up to you?"

"Why?"

"Because of how she talked about you. She told the truth about you but her admiration of you seeped through and the boys soaked it up."

"Hmm…" Artemis pondered for a moment. Her admiration? Was that what it was?

There came a knock on the door, Butler answered to see Minerva. He let her in and decided to step out for a moment and let Artemis deal with her, even if he was Artemis' body guard, he was still unable to protect Artemis from the "love triangle" he seemed unwittingly trapped in.

"You're back, Artemis? Is everything okay with Ms. Katherine then?"

"No, but I have some things that need to be taken care of."

"Oh…" Minerva walked up to where Artemis was and sat in the chair next to him, "What kind of work?"

"Just some research."

"Ah. A big project in the works already? You been home for less then a week and you have big plans?"

"No, it's relatively minor research."

"Oh, could I be of any help?"

"Thank you, Minerva, but no."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. If you could just leave me alone now I really need to concentrate."

"Well, I just wanted to spend some time with you, Artemis. You've been gone for so long." Minerva smiled and gently tossed her hair over her shoulder. Had Katherine been there she would have been spiting nails.

"I know that Minerva, please don't remind me of how long I've been gone." Artemis turned to look at her. Minerva seemed a tad shocked by the subtle tone of hostility in his words. "I am very conscious that I have missed three years of my life and I do not need to be reminded of the fact. So if you would be so kind as to please step out of my study and stop trying to charm me, it would be much appreciated."

Minerva sat quite for a moment, then got up and left. Artemis watched her leave, why did he snap at her like that. His mind was mixed up as of late, mostly because he had been feeling an over flow of emotions and it was starting to get to him. Artemis sighed, sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. He was trying to relax his mind but all he could picture was Katherine smiling at him. Artemis opened his eyes, what was wrong with him? He needed to concentrate. Artemis turned back to his computer, he was trying to reverse hack Foaly's computer so he could leave a "message" for Foaly. Unfortunately, Artemis found that some one, probably Foaly, had wiped Artemis' computer clean of any trace of fairy anything. Smart move. This was going to take a little longer than Artemis had anticipated but it would not be impossible.

Butler walked back into the room, "I just saw Minerva, and she looked a tad hurt. Did something happen?"

Artemis sighed, all this trouble over a girl, "I snapped at her, it was unintentional but the stress of the situation and these unmitigated emotions are not making life easy."

"I see." Butler decided to change the subject, "Any luck with contacting Foaly?"

"No, it seems all traces of fairy have been wiped from my hard drives."

Artemis sighed; he must be losing his mind. Artemis drummed his fingers on the desk-- fingers. Just then he realized something he'd been missing, Artemis looked down at his hand, in all this emotional commotion Artemis had forgotten about his fairy communicator. The audacious ring was exactly what he needed to get in contact with Foaly.

"Holly? I need some assistance; it seems there is no such thing as rest for us."

. . . .

Katherine sighed; she was exhausted from running on the treadmill. The doctors were treating her like some sort of freak. Well… that wasn't really new. Regardless they were running her ragged with all sorts of physical tests; one might have thought she was really a lab rat and not a person. It was mostly exhausting mentally though, her emotions were wearing thin. She trusted Artemis with all her heart but she was really starting to wonder if that was a good idea.

Doctor Talmond came in just then, "How are you doing Katherine?"

"I'm fine Doctor, just like I was thirty minutes ago when you checked on me last." Katherine felt like being smarmy since she was being treated like a freak. Smarmy, Katherine always liked that word. In some ways, Katherine thought that Artemis was quite smarmy himself. However, now was no time to be thinking about him, Katherine had more pressing issues to deal with.

Doctor Talmond took it in stride; he sat on the edge of Katherine's bed, his protective gear squeaking. "Now, now, Ms. Katherine, no need to be smart with me. We only have your best interest in mind." He smiled, not that Katherine could tell behind his mask. Since the hospital had no idea what was going on with her they put Katherine under quarantine. This meant that Mr. and Mrs. Fowl couldn't come and see Katherine so she was really on her own here.

The doctor checked her vital signs and of course found no heart beat, not even a slight spike in the readings. Katherine sighed, "Doctor, I find that all of this is unnecessary. Really, I have no disease and I am perfectly healthy albeit a tad out of shape. So why waste valuable time and money on me?"

"Because," Doctor Talmond was on his way out the door with his updated readings, "You could make me famous." The tone of his voice was a bit disturbing and Katherine was hoping and praying with all of her being that Artemis would show up soon.

_A/N: One last thing, I want to apologize if this chapter was not up to par. I had a case of writer's block mid-chapter. So my apologies if it's a little weird._


	9. Chapter 9 The Great Escape

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all his associates are property of the en-genius Mr. Eion Colfer. Therefore I only own Miss. Katherine.**

Angeline Fowl was sitting with her dear husband in the hospital's lobby. She was begging to wonder if it was a good idea to have brought Katherine here. It turns out that Mrs. Fowl was right, Katherine was sick but the attention that she was getting seemed more like a media attention rather than medical attention. Currently there was a swarm of journalists outside the main entrance of the hospital. The nurses (and security guards) had thrown them outside for disturbing the sanctity and quiet nature of the hospital. Regardless, Angeline was not very happy with how this all played out. "Dearest, I'm worried about Katherine, I do not like what is going on and I do not appreciate how the hospital staff is keeping what they're doing a secret."

"You're right, something needs to be done." Artemis Sr. got up to go have a few choice words with the nurses.

. . . .

By the time Artemis and Butler got back to the hospital, Artemis Sr. was having a heated discussion with some of the hospital staff.

"Can't you just let one of us go see her?!"

"Sir, I'm sorry we aren't allowing anyone to see her she's in quarantine." The young nurse was trying to be the voice of reason. You can't just go see some one who is in quarantine, cause they are cut off from the world for a reason. Or so she said.

Mr. Fowl spotted Artemis' entry, "Can't my son go in? Katherine is in a foreign country far away from her parents, don't you think she's a little scared and would like some reassurance that everything is going to be okay?" He paused a moment, for effect, then continued. "It's not like Artemis could not wear protection."

The nurse sighed; she could totally be fired for this. However, she did feel bad for the poor girl. The nurse glanced over at Artemis, who was doing his best to look harmless…he wasn't very good at it. "Well…I suppose he could go see her, for a little bit."

"Artemis, come here son."

"Yes, father?"

"This, kind, nurse decided that you're able to go see Katherine."

"That's fantastic, father." Artemis gave his best non-creepy smile. He then turned to the nurse indicating that he was ready to go.

"Hang on; let me locate some protective gear." She immediately turned away to go find some.

"Well, I'm glad she had this change of heart." Artemis' father smiled and motioned for Angeline to join them. "The nurse said that she would allow Artemis to see her briefly."

"Oh, that's wonderful." Mrs. Fowl smiled then placed a hand on her boy's shoulder, "Artemis do make sure she knows how much we care about her and that we're here in support, even if we can't go and see her."

"I will." Artemis sighed mentally; this was going to be interesting. He was sure that Katherine was waiting for him to do something about her situation. He was just hoping this would go off with a hitch. He had the weird feeling that hospitals were harder to break into than Swiss banks. The nurse returned and directed Artemis to follow her.

"Miss, I was wondering if it'd be okay if I brought her invisible friend."

"What? Isn't she a bit old for that?" The nurse was skeptical.

"Well, yes and no. Most times she is but under times of hardship and tragedy she starts to revert to her childhood." Artemis looked at the nurse matter-of-factly. He wanted to be safe, so he made sure Holly was welcomed in case they needed her. Though they probably would not, this escape would simply require lots of sneaking around.

The nurse was silent; there was no way that she was being paid enough to do this job. "Fine you can bring her "invisible friend"," the nurse shoved the gear into his arms, "You can put it on over your clothes and then just head in."

Artemis watched the nurse walk away then he slipped into the room, unprotected. They had not allowed Butler to come along with him and Artemis had not expected them too. "Katherine?"

. . . .

"Artemis? They let you in? Thank the Lord. I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

"Well, of course I came. Don't I _always_ get everyone out of a mess?" Artemis gave her a funny look and Katherine was not sure what he was trying to communicate.

"Yeah… I guess you do." She paused a moment, "So what's the plan?"

"Oh, nothing out of the ordinary. Stick with what works right?"

"Right…" This was very un-Artemis.

"But we do however need to hurry so let's get to work." Artemis sat down on the edge of Katherine's bed and for added effect clasped her hand between his. "Now sit still for a few seconds." Obviously, Foaly must be watching them, clipping a couple seconds of video to loop while they made their escape. As they had Katherine under special observation since she was Dr. Talmond's "special project".

Katherine was having a hard time doing as she was told she was feeling increasingly embarrassed the longer she sat there looking Artemis in the eyes. She could tell her heart was fluttering despite its M.I.A. status. Just as she was beginning to feel a touch sick, Artemis withdrew his hands from hers.

. . . .

"Alright now, let's get to work before the nurses return."

Artemis gently pulled the I.V. from the back of Katherine's hand; he was surprised at the coolness of her soft hand in his. It sent a pleasant feeling through him to hold her hand he smiled briefly then frowned, _'Why am I so easily distracted lately?' _He quickly pressed some cotton taken from Butler's First Aid kit on the small hole the I.V. had left and then clumsily placed a bandage on it to keep it in place. "There now, let's go."

Katherine gave him a doubtful look, "You expect me to go trouncing about in the hospital gown?"

"No, I was expecting you to get dressed in the bathroom before we left. I assume they put your clothes in the closet."

"Right." Katherine carefully shuffled over to the closet and grabbed the bag with her clothes and her shoes. She quickly went to the bathroom and dressed herself, when she returned Artemis had just got off his fairy communicator.

"We will need to hurry the nurses are starting to make their rounds." He quickly poked his head out the door to make sure it was clear, he then grab Katherine's wrist and pulled her towards their escape route.

. . . .

Katherine tried to focus on sneaking around rather than on Artemis' hand in hers. Needless to say, it was difficult, Artemis said this was to insure that they stay together; but Katherine thought that Fate was just trying to be ironic. Artemis could have chosen better words; after all, he was supposed to be a genius. She was beginning to feel dizzy as they ducked and covered behind various carts, chairs and desks as they made their way towards the South elevator. However, Katherine wasn't going to give in here, she was going to be strong no matter how bad it felt.

"Alright," Artemis's whispering sent a chill up Katherine's spine, "We are almost there, I can see the elevator."

"Good. Cause my legs are starting to burn." Of course, her stomach also felt like it was going to turn inside out and her head felt like it was going to split in two, but that was old news.

"Can I help you?" Katherine froze, she knew that voice, it was Dr. Talmond.

Artemis stood up, "My friend just dropped her contact, and I was just helping her look."

Katherine couldn't believe that Artemis was using that excuse; she was beginning to seriously doubt his genius. However, Katherine knew better, Artemis had displayed his genius and saved her life many times. But seriously, lost a contact? Lame.

Dr. Talmond folded his arms, "Really? If I'm not mistaken you're that Fowl kid. The one everybody says is a genius. You don't sound so smart right now. Look kid, I know you are trying to sneak your friend out, but I cannot let you do that. She's my ticket out of here."

At this Katherine stood up, she couldn't take it any more. There was no way she'd let this jerk get off scot-free now. Artemis stepped in front of her before she could even do anything.

"Dr. Talmond, my good sir. Does it not make you feel cheap and disgusting, having to use a poor, innocent, sick girl as your _stairs_ to fame? I bet that you could give all the doctors in this a hospital a _run_ for their money, if you wanted to." Artemis was speaking calmly and almost rhythmically.

Katherine thought Artemis must have lost his marbles, why was he trying to build Dr. Talmond up. Wasn't this usually the part where Artemis said some witty, yet demeaning, banter then made an unbelievably cool escape? Katherine sighed mentally. She had mostly tuned out what Artemis was saying…wait…stairs? Katherine started searching for the stairs, there they were! Just to the right of the elevator. Katherine just barely heard Artemis utter run one last time when she grab his wrist and bolted.

"Nurses! We have a jail break!" Immediately, three very large, male nurses came running after Katherine and Artemis. Katherine and Artemis burst through the doors to the stairs and ran like there was no tomorrow. Katherine was very grateful that they were running down the stairs rather than up.

. . . .

Artemis would have to start exercising more after this was over, he was already running short on breath and they had eight more flights to go. Artemis glanced back briefly, the "nurses" were practically right on their tails, for such large men they were quite quick on their feet. Then again how could he really be surprised, Butler was quite quick on his feet as well, at least before the Kevlar. Somehow, Katherine and he were going to have to slow them down.

. . . .

There! Right on the next platform a cart. Katherine glanced back at Artemis, he must have known what she was thinking or at least seen the cart himself cause as soon as he ran past it he drug it behind him and shoved it at the male nurses. It tripped them up a little bit and slowed them down just enough for Katherine and Artemis to pull ahead on their second wind. Katherine felt like she was about to pass out but they were almost to the ground floor, just three more flights to go.

. . . .

Artemis felt every part of his bodying burning under the stress of the situation. Nevertheless, he could not give up now, they were almost there and surely Katherine was having a worse time then he was she was the sick one. Artemis, could not help but admire Katherine. Even under the influence of illness Katherine gave all she could and then some. He could she the strain on her face though, anguish seemed to seep through her determined front. Finally, the ground floor, Katherine burst through the door first and directly into another nurse.

. . . .

"Oomph!" Katherine was suddenly clamped into the arms of another male nurse. She wriggled like a fish on a fishing line; she could hear the other nurses catching up. Where was Artemis?! Katherine's strength was waning and she'd have to give up soon. Suddenly she felt the nurse's grip loosen, something had slammed into him. It was Artemis, Katherine seized this chance to break free and shove the disoriented nurse over. She then grabbed Artemis who was trying to steady himself after exerting practically all his strength to knock the nurse off kilter. The two of them tore through the South lobby and out the door where Butler was waiting with the family Bentley.

Katherine and Artemis practically jumped into the car and before they could even close the door, Butler was off. Katherine slammed the door shut with the last of her strength then collapsed into the backseat like a pile of dirty laundry. She was panting heavily, trying to catch her breath. She looked over at Artemis who was crumpled up in his seat as if all his strength had been sapped. He looked up at Katherine and managed a weak smirk, it was then that Katherine's body could handle no more and she passed out.


	10. Chapter 10 True Love

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all his associates are property of the en-genius Mr. Eion Colfer. Therefore I only own Miss. Katherine.**

_A/N: Okay, so the story is wrapping up. So you guys are getting a two-chapter update! Yay! It takes me so long to update because I re-read the chapters like 20 times to make sure there are no grammatical errors but I always miss some. At any rate I hope you enjoy these chapters, I tried intertwining some mythology in this chapter... we will see how that goes._

The next thing Katherine knew was the feeling a warm hand gently pressed against her face. Something inside Katherine wanted to believe that it was Artemis' hand but she knew better; and besides, weren't his hands cold and icy like a vampire's… well that is what everyone said. Katherine knew they were wrong, she had learned so this afternoon when Artemis had taken her hand in his. The thought woke the butterflies in her stomach as she drifted in that weird place between dreams and reality. Katherine tried to open her eyes; her eyelids were heavy and her eyes were sensitive to the light. As Katherine squinted into reality, a shadowy figure came into focus.

"Holly?" The little elf was bent over Katherine feeling her forehead.

"Katherine? How are you feeling?"

"Like all my muscles died." Katherine groaned, she was starting to feel the ache and pain from the hospital escape. "How did I get here?" She was obviously somewhere in Haven city, she could tell by the unusual setting she found herself in.

"Well, after some fanangling Artemis managed to convince us to bring you down here. Though it didn't take too much," Holly winked. "After he told us you were sick and that he suspected it to be a 'magical sickness' of some sort Foaly's interest got the best of him." She laughed, "He never could turn down a challenge."

Katherine smiled; it was nice to see Holly again. "So, Artemis thinks I have _magical_ disease?"

"Well, he called it a magical sickness, but yeah he thinks that you somehow are under some sort of spell. Which I could understand since your symptoms are really unusual but I honestly do not think you are under a "spell"." Holly rolled her eyes, it was funny that even after all his time spent with the People he still inadvertently believed in fairy tales. Honestly, magic spells cast on humans, that has not happened since well, Holly could not even remember when.

Katherine sighed, "You know I'm starting to doubt his genius sometimes. I mean really. Does he think this is some sort of fairy tale?"

"You'd think. Of course we both know better, as much as I hate to admit it sometimes, Artemis is usual partly correct if not completely."

"I suppose so."

"The warlock will be here soon to examine you. Hopefully it won't take that long." Holly sat back in her chair and stretched.

Katherine sat up on the medical bed and looked around. No sight of Artemis or any one else, "Holly, where is Artemis and everybody?"

"They are with Foaly; he's showing them the latest in nerd gear." Holly laughed; Katherine and she had always poked fun at Artemis and Foaly when they talked about technology. It was like two little boys at Christmas, "Seriously though he's showing them his latest invention."

Just then, Artemis, Butler and Foaly walked in followed by a small fairy that Katherine assumed was the warlock.

"Katherine, I'd like you to meet Dr. Jubal Boreal. He was kind enough to come and examine you." Foaly was introducing the grumpy looking fairy.

"More like I owed you one for that emergency job you did on my home security system." An awkward silence followed. "Well, I need you all to leave me with the patient so I can examine her undisturbed."

"Um, if it's alright with you Dr. Boreal. I'd like Holly to stay with me."

Dr. Boreal frowned, "Fine, just as long as she stays out of the way." Artemis, Butler and Foaly were shooed out of the medical bay, and into the lobby area leaving Katherine and Holly alone with the warlock.

. . . .

"Artemis, do you honestly believe that she has some sort of _magical sickness_?" Those words sounded weird coming from the large Eurasian man. It was like hearing 'Yucky ducky' come out of his mouth.

Artemis sighed, "What else could it be, Butler? There is no logical, humanly, explanation. So I assume that it has something to do with magic, if only a little something." It bothered him that they did not seem to trust him on this, though he could see how it would be hard. It was practically something straight out of a fairy tale.

. . . .

Butler knew better than to question Artemis on issues of this type, most often he was right. Never the less Butler was still worried about Katherine, even if her health was suffering because of some magical spell of sorts he was worried about the consequences it could have on her permanent state of health.

He glanced over at Artemis, calm as usual. He wondered if Artemis even knew how Katherine felt about him. Surely, a mind as brilliant as Artemis' would have some clue. Then again, Artemis' sense of women's emotions was a little off kilter; even the great Artemis Fowl could not escape the incurable disease of man. Butler quietly chuckled to his self; maybe Artemis suffered more from that than any man did, since he was always thinking about data rather than human emotions.

. . . .

Artemis was beginning to worry now; the warlock had been in the medical bay with Katherine for several hours now and not a sound. He was careful not to let the silence eat away at him, though he was not even sure why it would "eat away at him" in the first place. There was this deep-seated fear that Katherine would be incurable, and it really bothered him. He knew he should be worried but this was more worry than one typically has for a close friend. Artemis could not for the life of him figure out why he had become so emotional, especially when it came to Katherine. Maybe it was left over from his experience in the time/dimension jump.

Artemis had tried meditating several times only to find that he could not empty his mind of Katherine, whether it was worry or just things about her he admired in her character. This was the first time that he was having trouble concentrating on one thing, well at least trouble concentrating on something that he wanted to. Artemis felt that it was rather bothersome but he found himself unable to do anything about it.

Finally, the door opened and Holly poked her head out, "Hey, where's Foaly?"

"He had to step out and make a call to Caballine. He should be back any minute. How is Katherine? Is she doing better?"

Holly briefly chewed her lip, "Oh, well she's going to be fine." She gave Artemis a weak smile, "Send Foaly in when he gets back." With that, Holly ducked back into the medical bay.

Artemis frowned, "I do not like that reply. Holly seems to be hiding something."

Butler grimaced. Katherine's problem seemed to be getting more and more complicated.

Just then Foaly returned, "I need to leave soon, Caballine, says she needs me at home."

"Well, Foaly, Holly actually requested that you go into the medical bay. She said to send you in when you got back." Artemis was cool and calm as usual, "Could you please let me know what's going on as soon as you can?" If he were a normal person, his emotions would have shown through. He was anxious. Artemis felt strange being anxious like this, it had never really happened like this before. It was new and unwelcomed.

Artemis was not sure why everybody made such a huge deal of emotions. They were unpleasant, Artemis felt absolutely miserable and for what? The sake of another person. However, Artemis knew better. Katherine was not just "another person", she was Katherine. She was special, there was something different about her and he liked it. Artemis sighed mentally, for some reason his mind played back several memories of Katherine. Like the time she had baked him cookies for his birthday and he told her he did not care for sweets. She looked so broken hearted that he ate them anyways. His mind flashed to more recent memories, like her hand in his at the hospital, remembering it sent shivers down his spin. There was something missing, he just could not pin point what it was. He had all this information but it seemed useless with out the missing piece, as if it was the key to everything.

. . . .

"Well, it looks like this is not caused by any magic of the People." Dr. Boreal scratched his chin, "It appears to be ancient magic."

Foaly nodded, "I see what you mean, you don't think this is—"

"I do. I am nearly sure that this is human magic."

"Human?" Katherine was befuddled, "But, humans don't have magic."

"Well, humans don't have magic any more." Foaly took on the air of a teacher, "You see, many, many centuries ago, humans possessed magical capabilities. However, one man's actions ruined it for all of you."

"Thank goodness—no offense Katherine." Holly looked a bit sheepish; she had meant to say that under her breath. She did not like the thought of greedy Mud Men with magic.

"None taken. Keep going Foaly, if you would."

"Anyways, Katherine have you ever heard the tale of Tristan and Isolde?"

"I've heard of it before." Katherine shrugged, "Why?"

"Well, the way it is told now of days is mostly wrong but the important part is that Tristan and Isolde did in fact have a—err …relationship. Basically, they committed treason against their king. King Mark had been given a love potion of sorts on their wedding day, which made him desperately in love with his wife, Isolde. Now, the Kings heart was so broken by the actions of his dear nephew and beloved wife that nothing could console him. As a result, he cursed Tristan and Isolde to suffer hardship their whole lives, King Mark's curse went much deeper than he had meant it too. Leave it to a human to do things with out thinking."

Foaly whinnied; Katherine assumed that he was laughing at his own humor. "And this has to do with humans having magic how?"

Foaly frowned, "I'm getting there. Because the King's heart was so broken, it had tainted his curse on the couple and the hardship that Tristan and Isolde ended up enduring was the loss of magic in their love. Sounds corny I know, but the source of human magic was love."

Katherine stared at Foaly for a minute, "So you want me to believe that humans had magic at one time but the actions of a heart broken king ruined it for us all. And on top of it you expect me to believe your fruity claim that, 'the source of human magic was love'." She was mocking him. "Come on Foaly, I'm all for fairy tales but this is beyond that."

Holly sighed, "As stupid as it sounds, Katherine, the source of human magic was love. Unbelievably, that used to be the strongest type of magic on the planet. Every kind of magic has its source, the People's magic comes from nature, and human magic came from love. Once love was so betrayed the Mud Men lost their abilities."

"Seriously guys—"

"Mud Child! If you choose not to believe us that is your own fault. I have done everything I can for you so I am going to leave." Dr. Boreal started gathering up his things.

"No, wait!" Dr. Boreal paused. "Say I believe you guys. Isn't there anyway you guys can heal me? If you haven't noticed you have only diagnosed me after all this time."

Dr. Boreal sighed, "I have done everything I can, and there is no healing that I can do to reverse this spell."

Katherine's shoulders slumped; she was going to have to live with this forever? "B-but how did this happen?"

Foaly chimed in, "Katherine it's no secret to any of us hear that you kind of have a thing for Artemis. Why? I doubt any of us will ever know. Regardless, you apparently loved him enough that you over came the curse. You have what is otherwise known as "true love"." Foaly was even doing the air quotes now. "Quite honestly, I find it kind of disgusting to think that anyone could ever truly love that Mud Boy but hey, there's somebody for everyone."

"Yeah, just look at you. You found Caballine." Katherine smirked. She couldn't resist the pot shot since he was ragging on her for being in love with Artemis.

Foaly frowned and stamped his hoof, "Do you want me to finish telling you what happened or would you just like to live with the mystery?"

Katherine sighed and grumbled an apology.

"Anyways, from what Holly told me you were watching them as they started plummeting to their death. My guess is that the person you love with all your heart was in mortal danger and you were helpless. Therefore, your heart reacted and on top of that, you throw in the time/dimension jump and you get the reactivation of your magic. Only a slight activation though, it would seem that it was only for that brief second when the time portal was open, it was just long enough to allow for your heart to transfer to Artemis."

"So, I literally gave my heart away?"

"Looks like it."

"So, all this happened because I—"Katherine turned bright red, "L-love Artemis." She knew she liked him, but love him? Had she really been so blind to her own feelings?

"Yeah."

Dr. Boreal interrupted, "The only thing you can do is tell that Mud Boy you love him and see what happens."

"You're kidding me right?"

Dr. Boreal frowned, "Does this look like the face of a kidder? I am not joking with you. The only thing you can do to try and alleviate this illness is try and reverse the process."

Katherine couldn't believe this, not only was this fairy trying to tell her she had to tell Artemis she loved him, that in itself was a daunting enough task, but he also assumed she would get her heart handed back to her. In other words broken. "You have got to be kidding me. I can't do that, I just have to live with this. There is so no way on this flat earth that I'm going to tell Artemis I love him."

Holly frowned, "Katherine it's the only way."

"No. I will find another way or I will make due. But I will _not_ tell him."

Dr. Boreal shrugged, "Fine, it's your life kid."

Holly was not okay with this. "Katherine if you don't tell him I will."

Katherine's head was spinning her world was starting to crumble around her. Artemis had just come back to her and now she was at the risk of losing him forever over her emotions.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all his associates are property of the en-genius Mr. Eion Colfer. Therefore I only own Miss. Katherine.**

_A/N: Here's the second chapter! I hope you enjoy it ^-^_

"Holly, you have to promise to never tell Artemis." Katherine took Holly's hands in hers and quietly beseeched her with her eyes.

"But, Katherine, don't you think he'll be suspicious if we have nothing to tell him? Besides why would you want to live with the weight of this on you by yourself?" Holly felt really bad for Katherine. She was in a hopeless situation.

"Holly, you and I both know it'd be better if I never said anything. There is a chance—nay, a big likely hood that this is a one way street." Katherine shifted her gaze to the floor, "there's a bigger chance that he'd stay in a motel." Katherine felt a flood of emotions sweep over her; she was just going to have to live with out her heart. Artemis could never know that love had bound him to this time and that he was the keeper of Katherine's heart. Katherine looked back up at Holly, "Please… I'm begging you." Katherine barely managed to squeak that last sentence out.

Holly searched Katherine eyes; she could see the immense sorrow in Katherine in them. "I promise." Though everything inside her told her, it would be better to tell Artemis, if only for Katherine's sake she would keep her promise.

"Thank you so much, Holly, you have no idea what this means to me." Katherine embraced Holly with all her might, almost as if she was squeezing out all her troubles.

"Alright, let's bring them in then. Foaly, will you please?" Holly motioned towards the door. Foaly, quietly did as he was asked, he knew what it was going to take for Katherine to bare this alone so he did what he could to help.

Artemis and Butler walked in, it was then that Katherine decided she would tell Butler the truth later but for now, she must lie. Katherine didn't like the idea of lying to some one she cared for so deeply, but what choice did she have? She would rather bare this burden alone then risk her heart being returned to her in a shattered mess.

"What's the verdict?" Artemis was calm as usual but Katherine knew the wheels in his head were in constant motion.

"Well it was a spell of sorts but it's been taken care of and I have a clean bill of health." Katherine smiled, a fake smile, but it should pass through Artemis' less than stellar emotion radar.

Artemis tilted his head slightly, "Really, it was that simple to fix?"

Katherine began to flush a little when Foaly spoke up, "Artemis, magical sicknesses are not like your human sicknesses. Often times they only need a quick healing and then you are right as rain. None of this true love's kiss mumbo jumbo you Mud People think."

Katherine could have died, was Foaly trying to blow her cover purposely? Holly quickly shot Foaly a glare then turned back to Artemis, "Artemis, I can assure you that Katherine is absolutely healthy now."

Artemis was not sure if he wanted to necessarily believe them, how could it be so easy? Why should he believe them, after all they had been down here for hours? Perhaps it was a simple spell but had slightly different effects on humans so it took longer. Artemis did not understand everything about magic yet. Of course, he planned to remedy that as soon as possible. "Well, I'm glad you are healthy now Katherine."

Artemis smiled a smile that would have knocked Katherine's socks of, had she been wearing any. Katherine braced herself, for a wave of nausea flooded her body nearly bringing her to her knees. She couldn't let him know so she pretended, as best she could, that everything was all right. "Well, we should probably get on home—I mean back to your house so your parents don't worry."

"Right," Artemis did a visual check-up of Katherine, all things seemed to be in order. She did look a little worse for the wear, but that was most likely because she was tired. "They are probably worried especially since you were sick and I only just returned home."

Katherine smiled, he wasn't asking questions. That was good, because Katherine would not be okay with continuing to lie, well at least continuing to lie verbally. Katherine turned to Dr. Boreal. "Thank you, sir. I really appreciate you helping me like this."

A quick flash of discomfort flashed across his eyes both he and Katherine knew that he had not healed her, and he was not so fond of fibbing, "You are welcome. Now if my services are no longer needed then I am going to leave now." With that, the little fairy grabbed his belongings and hauled himself out of there as fast as possible.

"Holly, Foaly, thanks again for letting me trouble you." Katherine grinned at them, "Hopefully next time I see you it'll be under less stressful situations than in the past."

Holly smirked and gently punched her in the arm, "Are you kidding, we live for this." Clearly sarcasm, Artemis and Katherine—well almost entirely Artemis, had cause many a problems for the LEP and Holly over the years.

"Well, you take care of yourself Katherine. We will be keeping an eye on you guys."

. . . .

It had barely been a week since Katherine had been "healed"; and she had managed to put up a good front with the help of Butler. However, she wouldn't be able to fake it much longer. Spending time with Artemis was like trying to roll a boulder up a mountain, nearly impossible. She would feel so incredibly sick and it seemed to be getting worse all the time. On top of it all, she felt the pain of rejection; she could never be with Artemis even though she loved him with all her heart, literally. Artemis had his head lost in facts and figures, and was out of touch with emotions and human relationships. Oh sure, he'd gotten better about it, but he hadn't come far enough to be entangled in love. Still, the weight of this secret was bearing down on her and was beginning to break her heart. Her plan of remaining silent was backfiring. She felt a need to escape; it was time for her to go home, her real home. Of course, how should she explain herself?

She found Mrs. Fowl out on the terrace it was almost time for her afternoon tea. "Mrs. Fowl? I hope I'm not bothering you—"

"Oh, no Katherine you are not bothering me. In fact I was hoping you would join me for tea." Angeline smiled, "My boys are busy this afternoon and Minerva is leaving shortly."

"Minerva's leaving?" Come to think of it, Katherine had barely seen Minerva all week, as if she had been avoiding her or something.

"Yes, she said that her father missed her and wanted her home. So, will you join me?"

Katherine couldn't resist, she loved spending time with Artemis' mother. She was genuinely sweet and doted on her like she was her mother. Katherine had missed that motherly feeling after all these years. It had been so long since she had a mother figure in her life that she couldn't help but stay. "Gladly." Katherine smiled.

Just then, the tea was brought in and placed on the pretty little table for two that Angeline was seated at. "Well, take a seat dear, you take two lumps of sugar right?"

"Yes, that's perfect. Thank you." Angeline handed Katherine the dainty teacup. Katherine had previously listened to Mrs. Fowl explain how this tea set was part of Artemis' great-great grandmothers china that her husband had brought her from France. It was really quite a cute story. However, today other things occupied their tea conversation.

"So, Katherine, how are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm right as rain. I feel great now."

"No, I meant with Artemis?" Angeline set her teacup down gently, "I know how fond you are of him, and I see how you look at him. He does not notice does he?" Angeline sighed.

Katherine was a little embarrassed to talk about it, "Well, I'm not exactly displaying my feelings out right." For some reason she was defending him.

"Well, of course not. A lady of decorum knows how to show just the right amount of affection."

"True." Katherine took a sip of her tea, "Though I have to wonder if I should show that I like him more than I currently am since he doesn't notice."

"Well, my son may be a genius but he is a bit thick when it comes to girls. So I suppose…though I do notice a difference."

"A difference? A difference in what?" Katherine was interested now.

"Well, you and I both know that Artemis never really got on with his peers. However, for some reason he has always been friendly towards you. Even if he was never exactly fond of your strange friend…what was her name?"

"Alyse?"

"Yes, Alyse. He still enjoyed your company and he seems to give some importance to your opinion." Angeline smiled, "So perhaps you have had more of an impact on him than we think."

"Maybe so." Katherine enjoyed this talk with Mrs. Fowl immensely; it was like having a mother-daughter talk. Katherine had never benefitted from those since her parents had passed when she was young. She did have her aunt but it wasn't the same her aunt was always busy and never had much time to sit and talk with her.

"Maybe, I'll have a daughter yet." Angeline's smile was a bit on the devious side now. Clearly, not all of Artemis' devious nature came from his father; part of it came from Angeline.

"Mrs. Fowl?" Katherine turned red.

"Oh come on, Katherine, I can hope. Besides who would not want a daughter-in-law like you? You are such a wonderful girl and I know Artemis would be treated well by you." Truth be told there was a time when Angeline was not very fond of Katherine. However, that was years ago, when Artemis and Katherine were about twelve or thirteen. Angeline was not happy about her son hanging around with two ridiculous American girls, who were very clearly of no breeding of any sort.

Things had changed now, after Artemis Sr. had returned. Life became different and that included how they saw Katherine. Then when Artemis disappeared, they formed an odd bond through their suffering and Katherine was informally integrated into the family. Katherine was going to miss being here, but she had to leave she couldn't stand the pain much longer. The two of them finished their tea in silence, enjoying the rare sunny day in Ireland.

The tea tray was taken away, "Mrs. Fowl, can I share something with you?"

"Yes, of course Katherine. What is it?"

This was going to be one of the hardest things Katherine had ever done. She was not only going to miss Artemis but the entire family as well, and of course, that included Butler too. Katherine took a deep breath and swallowed hard…


	12. Home At Last

_A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to post but it is the final chapter and I wanted it to be really good. I hope this meets expectations. Think of it like a really late Christmas present XS_

_Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and all his associates do NOT belong to me. (With the exception of Katherine) They belong to Eoin Colfer._

. . . .

"I need to go home." Katherine decided it was best to be straightforward; there was no use in beating around the bush.

"What?" Angeline's brow furrowed.

"There are some things that I need to take care of back home, now that I'm old enough." Katherine looked up from studying the ground, she didn't like lying. However, lately it seems that is all she had been doing. Nevertheless, if she told Mrs. Fowl the real reason why she was leaving, Angeline would be sorely disappointed.

"Oh, well are you going to be leaving us permanently?" Angeline frowned; Katherine was beginning to feel guilty now.

"That, I don't know. I have to figure out what to do with the house." Katherine's parents had left her their house that they had inherited from her mother's grandparents. Now that she was old enough, she needed to decide whether to sell it, rent it out or just live in it. Ever since Katherine had been in Ireland, it had been vacant. "If I rent it out or sell it I might possibly come back… I just have to sort through some stuff."

"Well, if it's what you really need to do then do it." Angeline smiled and placed a gentle hand on Katherine's, "I hope, though, that you know you are always welcomed here. We will miss you tremendously, my boys especially—and I do not just mean Miles and Beckett."

"Thank you, Mrs. Fowl." Katherine felt so ashamed. Why did everything come down to this? 'Lies beget more lies', who was it that told her that? Oh yeah, it was Butler. That was the first thing out of his mouth when she told him the truth about being "healed". Butler was only mildly sympathetic to Katherine's decision; he even reprimanded her for her self-pity over her self-inflicted pain. Nevertheless, he did agree to help her hide it in the end, with the condition that if it ever got extremely bad that Artemis would be informed.

Unfortunately, this would qualify as getting "extremely bad". After all, she was running away wasn't she? Why would she have to run if it wasn't that bad, right? Katherine knew that this was going to be unpleasant but at least she would be leaving right after she told him. That way she wouldn't have to suffer the consequences.

Katherine left afternoon tea feeling less than stellar. She felt immensely guilty for having to lie but she also felt like she was being ungrateful to the Fowl family. After all, they had treated her like family, so they deserved better treatment than this from her. She felt as though she were going to explode from all the emotions she was feeling. How would she tell Artemis the truth? 'You literally stole my heart because…I love you. Goodbye.' Then jump on the nearest plane heading for Chicago . . . No, what was she thinking? That would definitely not work; there would be no hokey airport farewells for her.

Katherine groaned as she crumpled into a lifeless heap on her bed. She watched a bird fly past the window.

'Why can't I be a bird?' Katherine sighed as she thought about the carefree life of a bird. Birds seemed to never have anything to worry about; in fact, they always seemed cheerful and even woke up singing. Katherine decided that if she did believe in reincarnation she'd want to be a bird. However, she didn't believe in reincarnation so she would just have to suck it up, stop dreaming and tell the truth to Artemis.

This was going to be the hardest thing she would ever have to do. It would be like ripping her own heart out. However, what must be done… must be done. It was that simple.

. . . .

Artemis sat in his study meditating; he was trying to concentrate on the Book of the People. He was dwelling on everything he gleaned from it about the origins of magic, and how it worked. His meditation had not been going very well as of late. For some reason or other Artemis would find himself dwelling on Katherine. Normally, Artemis would write down a note or two about the thoughts flooding him and that normally dissipated any distractions. Unfortunately, this method had not worked for clearing his head of Katherine. Artemis sighed and opened his eyes; perhaps Butler might have the answer. Maybe this is one of those dreadful side effects of having hormones.

Artemis found Butler in his room cleaning his Sig Sauer. Artemis knocked on the doorframe, though he knew that Butler had seen him due to the fact that Butler was, well… Butler.

"Artemis you know that you don't have to knock on my door." Butler started piecing his gun back together. "Clearly, there is something wrong."

"Well, there is nothing wrong that would require the use of your gun." Artemis was eyeing the Sig Sauer, which Butler was currently loading.

"Alright, then what's going on?" Butler finished loading his gun and placed it in his holster.

"Well. I have…" Artemis was unsure how to word this, he was also surprised at his lack of words. It was a rarity that he was incapable of phrasing something just right. "…a question?"

. . . .

Butler was starting to worry; Artemis was being hesitant and even fidgeting a little. "What is it?" Artemis had asked Butler a great many crazy questions, which usually led to a dangerous adventure. Yet, Artemis had never been so hesitant with posing a question and Butler had _never_ seen Artemis fidget.

"It is about Katherine."

Butler could have sworn that Artemis' cheeks turned pink, even if it was for a fleeting moment. "Katherine?"

"Yes, Katherine." Artemis sat down in the desk chair across from Butler.

. . . .

"Butler, I cannot seem to get her off my mind." Artemis leaned his head on his hand as if he had a headache. "I have been trying to meditate for the past hour or so and could barely concentrate."

Butler just looked at Artemis, there had barely been a question posed there.

Artemis sighed audibly, "Is there something wrong with me? Is this normal for boys of my age?"

. . . .

Butler was taken aback by the nature of that question; Butler had expected quit a different type of question to come from Artemis. However, this question seemed so…typical. Which was very un-Artemis like. Unless of course, he was being "typical Artemis"; but, this was not the case.

"Well?"

"No. Nothing is wrong with you. Thinking about someone so much is normal when you have such strong feeling for them."

"'_Strong feelings?'_ What are you implying, Butler?"

"All I meant, Artemis, is that you care for Katherine more than you typically care for your friends." Not that Artemis had many friends in general but Butler knew that Artemis followed his logic.

"So, you are basically saying that you think that I, Artemis Fowl the second, am _in love_ with Katherine." Artemis' brow furrowed at those words.

"No, those are your words Artemis." Butler placed his hand on Artemis' shoulder, "Think about it for awhile while." With that, Butler left Artemis on his own to mull over the conversation.

Artemis was floored. Butler had accused him of putting words in his mouth. Was that true? Artemis thought about it for a minute. Butler had only said that Artemis cared for Katherine more than what was typical of his nature. Of course, that could mean all sorts of things when related to Artemis. It could mean he thinks of her as a sister. Just the mere thought of Katherine as his sister disturbed him slightly, he much preferred her as a friend. Well, no…having her as something more seemed like it would be more appropriate. Something more? But… what could that mean. Artemis was so utterly confused about this; he decided to seek more counsel.

. . . .

"Come in." Angelina Fowl was just finishing a paragraph in the novel that she was reading while Miles and Beckett were playing on the floor of her and Artemis Sr.'s bedroom.

Artemis poked his head through the door; he was feeling rather shy about coming to his mother for this kind of thing. Feeling bashful like this really through him for a loop, he decided that if it were up to him hormones would be optional. What was he thinking? Artemis had become so irrational as of late and he pretty much knew why now.

"Mother, I need to ask you something."

"Oh yes of course Arty! Come; sit next to me on the bed." Angeline patted a spot close to her indicating that he should join her. The fact that Artemis was coming to her with a question thrilled Angeline. Her eldest son had never shown much interest in counsel from her; this was just about the greatest thing that had happened. She had never seen Artemis look so vulnerable before, it delighted her and worried her at the same time. Artemis never worried about anything. So clearly, this was something big.

"Mother…" Artemis sat down on the edge of her bed, silent for a moment watching Miles and Beckett crash their toy cars together, completely carefree. Artemis almost felt envious of their current disposition. "Mother, what do you do when you cannot stop thinking about …'something'?" He was beating around the bush—a new experience for him. Well, at least a new experience from the position that he currently found himself in.

"What do you mean? I am not sure I follow."

"Well, what do you do when 'something' consumes you? Your mind, your heart, everything seems to belong to this one thing and no matter what you do you cannot stop thinking about her." He looked at his mother that last word was a slip up, maybe she did not notice. He had intended to keep the object of his distraction, Katherine, anonymous. Clearly, his mind and his heart had a different plan.

Suddenly, Angeline's demeanor softened slightly. "Artemis, are you talking about who I think you are?"

Artemis looked away and for the first time in his life was embarrassed to look his mother in the eyes, even after all lies he told his mother he was never this embarrassed to look at her. This business of attraction was creating all sorts of new and unpleasant experiences for Artemis. Well, unpleasant may have been a strong word. The experiences were more uncomfortable than unpleasant, for all of these experiences were unprecedented and unwelcomed… well sort of unwelcomed yet welcomed at the same time. All of these emotions were confusing—a new sensation in itself for Artemis.

Angeline smiled, "Arty, it is normal for some one to consume your being when you love them."

'Love', there was that word again. However, this time it came from Artemis' mother and not him. He really could not be in love, right? He was after all the great Artemis Fowl whose name would make some people tremble from his over whelming genius. Moreover, he was too young—Artemis had never assumed himself to be "too young" for anything. Why was he doing so now? Could it be that he was looking for some explanation out of this?

"But, _how_? How did this happen?" Artemis was admitting it with his words and yet his mind was having a hard time wrapping itself around the fact that he _loved_ Katherine.

"Dear one," Angeline gently pulled her eldest son towards her and kissed the top of his head, "Falling in love just happens. Especially, when the girl is some one like Katherine."

Artemis looked up at his mother. He felt a feeling that he had not felt in a long time, he felt like her little boy. Even though Artemis's genius felt somewhat indignant about this, Artemis himself was enjoying this feeling. "A girl like Katherine?"

"Katherine is the kind of girl that if every man were smart, they would marry. What I mean is that she is the kind of person who always puts the needs of others before her own and she loves doing that. She loves taking care of people and seeing them happy. Katherine is intelligent and hardworking; moreover, she clearly has good taste in young men. "

It took a second for that last comment to sink in, "What?"

Angeline smiled, "You have been so busy with being a genius that you never noticed how enamored Katherine is with you. Artemis… she waited here for you to return to us, for _three years_. She could have gone home and we would not have blamed her but she refused and said that she would wait and you know what? While she waited we, your entire family, fell in love with her. I guess it just took you longer to realize how wonderful she is."

Artemis sat quiet for a while trying to process all that his mother had shared with him. Did he really love Katherine? On the other hand, was this all hormones? Artemis closed his eyes; he thought about all the time he spent with Katherine; the good times, like when she tried to enjoy an opera with him even though she had no idea what was going on. Alternatively, there was the time she scolded him for being heartless and slapped him when he retorted with another heartless comment. Butler had been preoccupied when she had slapped him. Every moment he could think of only seemed to help him confirm that he—

His pattern of thought was interrupted by a tug on his pant leg. Artemis looked down to see his younger brothers looking up at him. One of them spoke, Artemis was ninety percent sure that it was Miles, "Arwty, do you love Kitty?" Apparently, Miles and Beckett were cleverer than Artemis had given them credit for; clearly, they had been listening to Artemis and his mother's conversation.

Artemis sighed and looked them both in the eyes and gathered his thoughts. "Miles, Beckett… I think that I really…do…love her." Artemis felt a strange feeling sweep over him; he now understood what it meant to have "butterflies" in ones stomach. Artemis' verbalization of his feelings gave him a strange sense of happiness it seemed as though he could feel it in every inch of his body. This feeling of inexplicable happiness overwhelmed him so much that his body did not know how to react. Artemis felt as though he could run a marathon though he knew in his mind that he was in no condition to run a mile let alone a marathon. This illogical sense of feeling was perhaps why it had been hard for Artemis to fall in love, he was far too logical for such things; but Artemis knew he was gone now. Once Artemis decided on a path others had a hard time deterring him from it, in fact very few had succeeded in stopping him from doing what he wanted.

Artemis stood, "Mother, I must go find Katherine. Please excuse me." When Artemis had reached the door, he turned around, "One more thing mother…thank you." With that, Artemis walked out.

Angeline felt as though she was about to cry. Artemis had taken such a great step forward in less than half an hour. Her son finally realized what love really was, and he even came to her for the advice. Angeline had always wished that Artemis would act more like a son and less like a genius. She finally got her wish, very few things could have touched Angeline's heart so much as this.

. . . .

Butler had told Katherine that Artemis was upstairs in the west wing of the manor where his parent's room was located. As she made her way down the hall the closer she got to the Fowl's bedroom the faster she could tell her heart was beating, of course her heart still belong to Artemis so she couldn't feel it. Maybe her heart was beating so fast that Artemis could actually feel it this time. Who knows how this all really works? Dr. Boreal was not even sure if it was her actual heart that transferred or what had truly happened but he at least knew the basics of how it got to the condition it was in. He had told her there was only one-way to alleviate her pain; it was to tell Artemis the truth. Katherine could think of nothing scarier in this world than to tell Artemis Fowl that she loved him. Honestly, she would rather face a bull Troll during mating season than ever speak those words to Artemis.

However, what must be done…must be done. She had been repeating these words to herself for over an hour now. Katherine still didn't believe them. Katherine could she the door to Mr. and Mrs. Fowl's room open, out stepped Artemis. Katherine thought she could have exploded, died, pass out or any other suggestion of the aforementioned nature. She no longer was walking that way but when Artemis saw her he seemed to quicken his pace to meet her. The sunlight was pouring in the windows so Katherine could see his expression. It was something she had never seen on his face before and Katherine was unable to place it. Was it excitement? Nervousness?

Artemis stopped directly in front of her; he was smiling but seemed unsure of himself. "Hello, Katherine."

"H-hey Artemis." Katherine smiled weakly and her knees were becoming like Jell-O. Artemis' countenance was beginning to unnerve Katherine and she could feel a surge of tears trying to breach their keep.

There was a long awkward silence between them, when Artemis finally spoke. "We have been experience unusually good weather for this time of year." Artemis looked out the window.

"Y-yes." Katherine could no longer hold back her tears and began sobbing. Katherine knew that this would likely annoy Artemis; he disliked it when people were so weak as to break down in front of others. Nevertheless, Katherine just couldn't help it. The thought of losing Artemis because she loved him so much was overwhelming her entire being.

. . . .

Artemis' attention was quickly drawn back to Katherine who was now sobbing into her hands. He was unsure of what to do; Artemis thought back to all the "Chick flicks", as Katherine called them, went. Artemis gently placed his hand on Katherine's shoulder then did what came natural—well natural for people other than himself, and pulled Katherine into his warm embrace. Slowly, Katherine began to stop shaking from all her crying and the two of them just stood there for what seemed like forever.

. . . .

Katherine felt as though she were dreaming, could Artemis really be hugging her? Was Katherine dreaming? Clearly not for she felt the pain in her chest, that empty, hollow place where her heart should reside. Katherine's head lay on his chest, since when did Artemis get so tall? What did it matter, all that matter right now was that she was close to him, close enough that she could hear his heartbeat. Heartbeat…that reminded her of her own missing beat, suddenly Katherine tensed. A sharp pain shot through her body where her heart was missing from.

"Are you alright Katherine?" Artemis now held her out at arms length.

"I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind."

"I figured as much. You are a sensible girl and I know you do not cry for no particular reason; however, I was inquiring about your sudden jolt."

"Oh. Uh, that was nothing. Don't worry about it." Katherine had been practicing her "poker face" she hoped it was convincing because she was barely convincing herself. Slowly she could feel nausea creeping up on her and her head was beginning to feel rather light once again.

. . . .

"Alright…" Artemis was doubtful of the truthfulness of Katherine's answer but for some reason he felt that he should let it go for the moment, after all there were more pressing matters at hand. Artemis felt awkward, another emotion that he decided to add to his list of unnecessary emotions. He wanted to tell her that he loved her but the actual action seemed impossible. Impossible? Artemis had never in his life claimed that something was impossible. But, every time he looked Katherine in the eye something inside him melted and he felt incredibly helpless. Artemis decided that this whole business of "being in love" was quite irritating.

"Artemis, I have to talk to you about something." Never had any words ever struck fear in Artemis, but those words something about them filled his heart with terror. Indeed, being in love was more trouble than it had proved worth thus far.

. . . .

Katherine's throat felt parched suddenly, despite the fact that there were tears in her eyes once more. "A-artemis… I--I" Katherine eyes were glued on Artemis'; they seemed to see down into her very soul at that moment. She couldn't do it. She couldn't say that she loved him so she was running away. "I have to go home." That was it? Katherine felt so disgusted by her own fear; she could no longer hold back her hot tears.

. . . .

"Why?" It was all Artemis could get out, the sudden nature of this news was devastating to him. Of course he could not understand why, it was it just was. Was that what it meant to love some one? To want them with you all the time? Katherine was crying once again and Artemis found himself incapable of doing anything about it. "Why do you have to leave?"

"Because," Katherine had to look away from Artemis, "m-my parents house needs to be dealt with."

Artemis frowned, "Why do you have to take care of it so suddenly?"

"Well…" Katherine found herself lying again, "my parent's house has been empty for so long now, and now that you're finally home…I have no reason to be here anymore." She fixed her gaze on the floor tears relentlessly streaming down her face. Not only was she lying to him but she was now saying things that were hurtful. Katherine felt despicable.

. . . .

Katherine's words sank into Artemis' heart like a blade slowly piercing the skin. Clearly Katherine was lying to him for some reason, otherwise why would she say intentionally hurtful words. Artemis had never known Katherine to be a cruel person. There must be a good reason behind it all but it was obvious that Katherine felt that it was necessary to hide it. Slowly Artemis found himself deciding to let her go, "Katherine," Every fiber in his being disliked what he was about to do, " While I would prefer that you not leave, go. Go home and take care of your business; however I want you to promise me one thing. I…I want you to promise me that you will come back." Artemis was gripping Katherine's shoulders earnestly now, he felt as though his heart lie in the balance.

. . . .

"Come back?" Katherine was unsure what to say.

"Yes, come back because I have something I must share with you."

"Well, why can't you just tell me now?" Katherine was confused. This kind of behavior was very out of the ordinary for Artemis and irrational. What was so important that she had to fly all the way back to Ireland just to hear it when a simple call would suffice.

"For the same reason you cannot tell me why you are really leaving. I am not ready." Katherine was taken aback, but did it honestly surprise her that Artemis was so receptive to the truth? He was a genius after all.

"I can't promise you anything Artemis." Katherine wanted to escape all this pain and coming back to Ireland would not be conducive to her goal.

"Katherine," Artemis pulled her closer to him, "Please promise me."

Katherine saw a look in his eye that she had definitely never seen, it was tenderness. All of Katherine defenses seemed to crumble before it. "I promise."

Artemis smiled, "Good. Now, hurry up and go. The sooner you leave the sooner you will have to come back."

. . . .

Katherine had been home for a couple months now, and it was torture. Her plan was not working out, she wanted to escape so she could be free from the burden her heart felt but for some reason she was in more pain away from him. It was as if her entire being longed to be near him, even if she could never be his; she would at least be near his side. Katherine was frustrated with herself; could she really sit there though and watch as another woman took Artemis' heart? No, clearly not. Katherine knew that she possessed a very wide jealous streak and thus would be angry and tortured. '_Sounds like a death metal band… angry and tortured'. _It almost made her laugh to think about that, but her momentary light-heartedness fizzled out before anything could come of it.

Katherine had decided to put her parent's house on the market via internet sites so she would have to pay less of a fee. The thought of giving up one of the only few remnants she had of her parents, on top of her already distraught feelings over Artemis made for an incredibly bad day. Katherine slumped back into her chair and dreamed of a better day…

A notification popped on Katherine's laptop screen, a new e-mail. It was from the real-estate website, someone had sent Katherine a message about the house. There had been others interested in her parent's home before but all of them either found something better or just lost interest. Hopefully this inquiry would prove fruitful; Katherine wanted to see Artemis so badly.

. . . .

"Butler, this does not make sense. There seems to be a few key pieces missing." Artemis was running over his data collection from the Book of the People. He had spent the last few months dedicating himself to the study of magic and its components. It had been a good source of distraction from Katherine, even though she had been gone for several months he could not keep her out of his mind. So he had thrown himself into his work, it had worried Angeline so much so that at one point she cut off Artemis' access to his computers.

"Perhaps, there is an element that is not of the People." Butler had been restraining himself from telling Artemis _all_ that he knew, even if it would help him in his research; however, Butler had the feeling that he was just going to have to tell Artemis the truth since no one else would.

"That has occurred to me but I hit a dead end every time I pursue a lead. It is rather frustrating. If there ever was magic in other creatures, the People definitely are doing a splendid job of hiding all the evidence." Artemis' brow was furrowed and he felt the creeping fingers of a headache wrapping themselves around his brain.

"Artemis," Butler took a deep breath, "I suppose I should have told you this a long time ago but when we told you that Katherine was "healed" we were lying."

"I figured as much. My researched only confirmed the fact. I suppose the truth also contains one of my missing links?"

Butler sighed, "The actual truth is much more complicated than magic." Artemis sat silent waiting for Butler to continue. "Do you want me to start at the beginning?"

"That seems like the place one would generally start from." Artemis was feeling overly irritated this afternoon and he felt like taking it out on Butler.

"For starters, in case you were unaware of the fact Katherine is in love with you." Butler paused to let that sink in. "_That_ is the key to the whole puzzle."

"Love?" Artemis, while distracted by his research, was thoroughly red. His stomach still got butterflies when he thought about the possibility of Katherine reciprocating his feelings. Artemis had secretly become a sap on the inside, this disturbed him greatly. "What does that have to do with magic?"

"Everything." Butler was very aware of how uncomfortable Artemis felt so he emphasized his next statement, "Love is the very basis for human magic. Holly said that all magic draws its power from some where, the People as you know draw their power from nature. Humans similarly draw their power from Love. Katherine is sick for this reason."

"Katherine is sick because she loves me?" Artemis was both confused and hurt by his own statement.

"You could say that; however, it would be more accurate to say that she loved you so deeply she sacrificed herself for your safety." Butler was now sitting in one of the desk chairs. "Artemis, as incredibly smart as you are, we both know the likelihood of you actually getting as close to the proper time period as you did was slim. The real reason you were able to land so close is because of Katherine. You see, you took a part of her with you when you fell through the rift in time. As you know her heart beat is missing and her heart…well, not to sound cheesy but, her heart will always be with you." Hearing Butler talk in such a sentimental was almost amusing if it were not for the fact that the actual content of what he was saying was important.

Artemis sighed deeply. "Well, what am I supposed to do now?"

. . . . .

Katherine sighed as she exited her parent's house for the last time; she was going to really miss this place. All her memories of her family were here, but what could she do? There was no way that she would be able to live in that big empty house all alone. Katherine sat on her front steps one last time, her aunt would be here any minute to pick her up and take to live with her aunt's family.

A car pulled in the drive way, Katherine didn't recognize it. She assumed it belonged to the man that bought their house. Katherine had never met him in person; he had only ever sent representatives to view it for him. He was buying the house as a get away from his everyday life—a vacation home of sorts. Mr. Potesta, as he was called, said he loved old Victorians. Katherine had told him that her house was perfect for him and then he sent reps out to confirm and bring him the deed. It had all happened so fast that Katherine really didn't have time to think about it. He paid full asking price and seemed trust worthy; his name even sounded familiar, Arum S. Potesta. Katherine could not recall where she'd heard that name before but it was familiar enough that it didn't bother her.

The car was idle for a few minutes and the it turned off, the windows were tinted so Katherine couldn't see inside. She thought it was a little weird but gathered that if you are rich enough you can do what ever you want; clearly Artemis was evidence of this. Artemis, Katherine had been trying to stop thinking about him, it hurt and she missed him terribly. However, no matter what she did he wouldn't leave her thoughts alone. The driver got out and opened the passenger side door. Out stepped the very person her heart longed most to see. "A-artemis?"

"Good morning, Katherine." Artemis replied coolly as he walked up to her front steps and stopped. He seemed almost weary.

"What are you doing here?"

"Now, Katherine. Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Artemis smirked. "I had not expected to find you on your front steps. Are you locked out?"

"No." Artemis' smug question annoyed Katherine as she was hoping for a better reunion than this, "I told you I was selling my house. I'm waiting for the new owner so I can give him the key."

"Calm down, Katherine. I was only…messing with you?" Artemis still was awkward when it came to joking around with people.

Messing? Artemis never messed with anyone like this before, the last time he "messed" with somebody it was with their mind.

"At any rate, you failed to keep your promise."

"What promise?"

"Your promise to come back to Ireland."

. . . .

At this point Artemis could feel his chest tighten and his throat dry. Seeing Katherine made him feel like putty on the inside, he wanted so badly to just embrace her but that would be uncalled for. Why were his sense of propriety and his heart saying to different things? It was absolutely ridiculous.

"Oh…well, it takes a while to sell a house you know." Katherine looked away casually.

Artemis' jaw tightened a little, his emotions just wanted to spill out his mouth, he hoped that Katherine did not notice his lack of composure. "Well, you took to long."

"What?" Katherine turned back to face Artemis.

Artemis bit his lip, his emotions were just coming out on their own, "You…you took to long. The twins miss you." Artemis wanted to tell her how much he missed her and that killed him not to be able to see her smiling face everyday.

"Oh," Katherine sounded disappointed, "I see."

"And it was not just the boys."

"Oh?"

"My parents did too." Missed his chance again, why was it every time he wanted to say it his insides suddenly turned to liquid and all his normally sure nature disappeared.

Katherine was silent and looked like she wanted to run away.

"But, there was some one who missed you more than all the others combined." Artemis felt as though his world was spinning out of his control with no way of stopping.

"Really? Who was that? Butler?" Katherine's tone was kind of tart. She must have been hurt by his incapability to express his feelings.

"No…" Artemis got really quite and swallowed hard, it hurt—his throat was like a desert. "I did." Artemis looked Katherine directly in the eyes. He could feel himself shaking; it felt as though every ounce of his being was in that one statement, he felt so vulnerable.

"R-really?" Artemis could see Katherine's eyes fill with tears that she was holding back.

"Yes…" Artemis walked slowly up the steps and sat down, "Katherine…" He took her hands in his, he hoped she wouldn't notice how clammy his hands were and that they were shaking. "Katherine, I…" Artemis looked down, "I really care about you and for some reason I cannot get you off my mind. I think…no, I know that…" Artemis swallowed; his heart was beating so fast he could feel it in his head, "I love you."

Artemis looked up when Katherine had been silent for a few moments, she was crying. Had he said something wrong? Was he supposed to tell her some other way?

"I'm sorry Katherine I didn't mean to upset you it's just—"Artemis stopped when Katherine placed one of her hands on his shoulder.

"No, you didn't upset me." Katherine took a deep breath, "I've just been waiting and hoping so long to hear those words that I couldn't help it…and I cried."

Artemis smiled and pulled her into his arms, he felt himself melting inside. His genius self was not sure how he felt about this whole thing but everything else inside him felt as though he was walking on air. Impossible as that was.

"Artemis," Katherine pulled back out of his embrace.

"Yes?"

"I forgot to tell you…" Katherine looked bashful, "I love you too."

Artemis smiled and he could not help it now, his emotions completely over took him. Artemis looked Katherine in the eyes and slowly leaned in and kissed her. Artemis felt a thrill of something he had never felt before. His heart skipped a bit and it was as if a million butterflies were released all at once in his stomach. His father had been right, there were such things as fireworks when you kissed a girl. Of course, as his father had said, it could not be just any girl; it had to be _the_ girl.

Artemis sat back, his face thoroughly flushed. Katherine's was as well, Artemis concluded that she was beautiful—even after she cried.

. . . .

Katherine felt like she could fly, could all of this really just have happened. "So …what do we do now?" Where were they supposed to go from here, Katherine had no idea.

"I do believe we should go back home to Ireland."

"Home…to Ireland?"

"Yes, is there something wrong Katherine?"

"No…it's just, I never thought I would I ever call your home mine." Katherine smiled. It was weird to think that after all those years of living with Artemis' family it had never really been home; and now it was going to be her home forever? Home… "Wait, I can't leave with you."

"What? Why not?"

"Because…the new owner of my parent's house hasn't shown up yet." Katherine smiled, maybe selling her parents house wasn't such a bad thing after all. Though she would miss this old house…

"Yes he has." Katherine looked over at Artemis who was looking right at her.

"Where is he?" Katherine still didn't get it; she looked around then back at Artemis.

"He's right here. Katherine, I bought your house."

"What?!" Katherine was stunned and confused. Why, not just come and get her without buying her parents house? "Why would you do that?"

Artemis had not quite expected this kind of response. "Well, I figured you were too stubborn to just come home with me. Secondly, no matter what…now my home will always be yours." Artemis' intellect was gagging at this over the top sentiment but his heart felt as though it might burst if Katherine did not say something soon.

Katherine was silent for a moment…Artemis wanted his home to always be hers? Her eyes were beginning to well up with tears. The thought of always being with Artemis truly made her heart feel like flying, not only that but having a close family again. Katherine couldn't help it, she pulled Artemis to her and cried all over the shoulder of his nice Armani suit.

Artemis smiled and kissed the top of Katherine's head. His intellect finally gave in, no matter how he calculated it Katherine was the one for him. Katherine was naturally kind, loving and sweet. Not to mention she could hold her own and was not afraid to give Artemis "what for" when he needed it. His family loved her and well…clearly Artemis did too. No matter how Artemis sliced it, he knew he wanted to have Katherine by his side for the rest of his life. Artemis held Katherine out at arms length and kissed her forehead, "Come now, lets go home."

_A/N: Okay so that's it! Thank you so much to all of those who were faithful even though my updates were few and far between. :) I know the lovey dovey parts are so very un Artemis like but hey, love changes people. So, I hope ya'll enjoyed it! Love you guys_


End file.
